Evans Couple Charged with Starving Three Young Children

http://gty.im/1168651023       Three Columbia County children are hospitalized, one in intensive care, for illnesses due to malnutrition.

According to the incident report from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to the pediatric intensive care unit at Children's Hospital of Georgia April 6 where a 3-year-old child had been admitted for illnesses related to being severely malnourished.  The child was on a respirator and had been diagnosed with Ricketts disease and bone malformation due to malnutrition.

The boy's mother, 25-year-old Tink El, told deputies she had two other children, ages 1 week and 1 year, and they were home with their father, 30-year-old Hassan Sahih Bey.  Investigators say Bey arrived at the hospital with the two children and officials determined they needed medical attention as well.  Hospital officials determined the 1-year-old also had Ricketts Disease and the 1-week-old was also severely malnourished.

El and Bey have both been charged with Cruelty to Children -Deprivation of Necessary Sustenance.  El and Bey claim to be members of the Moorish Sovereign Citizens group.  Members of the group have come into conflict with federal and state authorities over their refusal to obey laws and government regulations, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.