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Police: Mom Abandoned Kids To Sell Sex In Chicken Coop

By Chelsea Hoffman
Published on: 09:36 PST, Jul 12, 2016

A Wisconsin mom has been arrested after authorities determined that she had abandoned her kids for a shocking and bizarre reason. The Pioneer Press reports that Sarah Bradehoft is jailed on a variety of charges stemming from the June incident.

Authorities in Star Prairie obtained a warrant to search the woman’s home after they were tipped off about possible prostitution-related activity. What they reportedly found were six children living in deplorable conditions. Police found evidence of alleged drug activity in the home, with at least one of the children being directly exposed to crystal meth. They also found — via lab test results — that the same child had been exposed to cocaine. When authorities showed up at the home with the search warrant, they allegedly found that they had been left alone while their mother was out in a chicken coop in the backyard. All six of the children are reportedly 10-years-old and younger.

The Wisconsin mom is accused of performing acts of prostitution in a chicken coop behind the home. As stated previously, authorities had become aware of the alleged activity via an online advertisement that appeared to be posted by Sarah Bradehoft. The online ad allegedly offered sexual favors for money.

One of the woman’s relatives told police that she had apparently been prostituting herself at night while everyone was sleeping, but would “sleep during the day” and end up with money in her possession, which evidently came from selling her body. The same relative told authorities that Bradehoft habitually neglected her children, leaving it up to other people in the home to bathe them and give them attention. The neglect and abandonment weren’t the only allegations given by the Wisconsin woman’s relatives. The mom was also reportedly heard striking two of her children with a belt on at least one occasion.

Sadly, Sarah Bradehoft isn’t the only mother to be accused of neglecting her kids while committing acts of prostitution. In 2012, a woman (along with her mother) left her young child in a car alone with another woman so they could allegedly prostitute themselves for money. They allegedly needed the cash to buy Hydrocodone. In 2013, a North Carolina mom was convicted of felony child abuse and neglect of a juvenile. That’s because she was caught prostituting herself in front of her own children. In 2015, an Oklahoma woman was accused of doing the same thing.

As for the arrest of the Wisconsin mom, Sarah Bradehoft, she has admitted to prostituting herself in a modified chicken coop behind her home. She told authorities that she “simply needed the money” to get back to Florida, and she felt that this was the only way she could get the money in a hurry. She admits to using the popular site, Backpage.com, to advertise sexual favors in exchange for money.

Unfortunately, this stunt has cost her custody of her six children. She may also end up convicted of various crimes that could affect her future. The Wisconsin woman has been charged with two felony counts of child neglect causing bodily harm and second-degree recklessly endangering safety. She has also been charged with three misdemeanor counts of prostitution.

[Photo via Polk County Sheriff’s Office]

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