MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A man and woman are facing child abuse charges after their 6 and 17-year-old children were living in a shed with “deplorable” conditions, according to Myrtle Beach police records obtained by News13.

Paul Michael St. Michel, 44, and Kelly Elizabeth Poe, 40, were each charged with two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child. Poe is also facing two drug charges and two fraud charges.

Myrtle Beach police responded at about 6 p.m. on June 17 to the 300 block of Cedar Street for a report of child abuse, according to an arrest warrant. The responding officer learned that Poe and St. Michel allowed their children to live in a shed.

The shed was in “deplorable condition, could not be secured, dirty, not climate controlled, could not store perishable food, had limited space and had no plumbing,” an arrest warrant shows. The children had no spare clothes, were unwashed and had no adequate shelter, putting them “at unreasonable risk of harm.”

Poe faces the fraud charges after police responded on June 9 to a Food Lion on S. Kings Highway and to a Coastal Pantry Liquor Store, according to an arrest warrant. She allegedly paid about $240 using someone else’s debit card.

She was arrested about a week later on June 17 in the 1400 block of S. Ocean Boulevard, where police found her to be in possession of methamphetamine, an arrest warrant shows.

Poe and St. Michel remain in the J. Reuben Long Detention Center where they were booked on June 18, online jail records show. St. Michel was given a $5,000 bond, while Poe was given a $65,000 bond.

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Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

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