Women Face 900+ Charges After Boy Was Rescued From Their Care Weighing 79 lbs.

Two women in Jefferson County, Pa., are facing more than 900 charges each after a teenage boy in their care was allegedly starved, confined and violently abused — dropping to just 79 lbs. before authorities removed him from the home.

Court dockets reviewed by PEOPLE show that Sarah Faber, 37, is charged with 947 counts and Amy Billotte, 51, is charged with 959 counts, including unlawful restraint of a minor, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, involuntary servitude, reckless endangerment and terroristic threats.

Both of the women are being held at the Jefferson County Jail on $500,000 bail.

School officials first contacted police on Sept. 8, 2025, after noticing the teen appeared severely malnourished and dehydrated and had lost more than 20 pounds since the previous school year, according to WJAC, WTAE, The Courier-Express and ExploreJeffersonPA. The outlets reported that he was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, where medical staff documented signs of malnutrition and physical abuse.

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According to a criminal complaint cited by WJAC, ExploreJeffersonPA and The Courier-Express, the boy told investigators he was confined to his bedroom “all day,” including during the summer. The outlets reported, citing the complaint, that his movements were monitored through cameras connected to a phone app and that an alarm had been placed on his bedroom door.

ExploreJeffersonPA and The Courier-Express further reported that screws had been installed in the bedroom windows to restrict how far they could open.

The teen alleged he was forced to stand for hours and exercise “to the point of exhaustion,” and that he was duct-taped to the floor of his bedroom at night, per WJAC and ExploreJeffersonPA.

He allegedly told police that he was not given a mattress or clothes to sleep in, and that he had been locked in the basement for several days as punishment, per the outlets. He additionally alleged he was pushed down the stairs and cut with a knife, resulting in injuries including a shoulder wound which resulted in scarring.

He also claimed, per the criminal complaint, that the women used clowns as a scare tactic and threatened to squirt cat insulin into his eyes, according to the outlets.

“His bedroom had absolutely nothing in it except a bed frame and a mattress,” Brookville Police Chief Vince Markle told WTAE. “No sheets, no bedding, no dresser, no toys, no pictures. It is just a room with nothing in it.”

“It’s going to be a long road to recovery for this individual,” Markle added. “It’s a very sad, tragic, heartbreaking case. The officers that worked on it, it took a little toll on them also because of how horrific it was.”

A neighbor, Ashley Payson, told WTAE that she once saw the teen taking out the trash in a diaper during cold weather. “I didn’t even have any idea that it was like that, but I feel really bad now,” she said.

Preliminary hearings are scheduled for early January, according to court dockets.