Two Toddlers Rescued from Roof, Parents Arrested for Felony Child Neglect

Residents on Wakeman Drive in Spotsylvania County, Va., were pounding on a neighbors' door at about 10:30 a.m. Jan. 14, trying in vain to alert the parents that their two toddlers -- age 2 and 3 -- were on the roof of the two-story townhome.

The police were called.

"Upon their arrival, deputies N. Ridings and L. Spillman made entry into the home, bypassing several concerned citizens who had gathered and were trying to coax the children back into the home," said Capt. Jeff Pearce with the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office. 

Senior Deputy Ridings retrieved the children through an open window while Deputy Spillman contacted the parents, who were sleeping in another room, Pearce said. 

Child Victim Unit Detective Twyla DeMoranville and Spotsylvania Social Services Investigators responded to the residence as a team.   They found the home in disarray and not suitable as a residence for children. 

Law enforcement also found a nine-month-old child unattended in a playpen. 

The parents, Michael Gillikin, 26, and Nancy Gillikin, 27, were arrested on four counts of felony child neglect and were incarcerated at the Rappahannock Regional Jail with no bond.  The children were removed from the home and placed in custody of child services.

The couple's fourth child was in school at the time of the parents' arrest, and was also placed in the custody of child services.

The Gillikins were arrested in 2010 for felony child neglect, Pearce said. Those charges were later reduced to misdemeanors.  The Gillikins had two children at the time and Mrs. Gillikin was pregnant with their third child. 

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