In Tennessee, authorities have charged a couple with child neglect following a wellness check that revealed two young children living in deplorable conditions.

The incident unfolded after an argument between Leon Woods, 65, and Carol Phillips, 32, caught the attention of Woods’ adult daughter. Concerned, she alerted the police, according to WTVC.

Investigators discovered Woods had a criminal history, having previously pleaded guilty to the rape of a 10-year-old girl in Tennessee and the molestation of a 4-year-old girl in Georgia earlier this year.

When officers arrived on the scene Friday, they were obstructed from reaching the front door due to barriers created by tables. They resorted to knocking on a window, which drew the attention of those inside.

At the scene, the police reported a strong stench of decaying food and body odor emanating from the residence. Additionally, the porch was infested with roaches, which even crawled onto the officers.

Woods opened the door, and he and Phillips confirmed the argument, which they said took place because Woods was cleaning while Phillips was trying to sleep.

Through the open door, the officers saw a child clad in a diaper crawling on the floor, which was covered in roahes and some kind of sticky residue. Woods told the officers there was another child in the house and let them in to check the house.

The affidavit said the house was fully infested with roaches and was cluttered, with several full trash bags all over the house. They found the other child — a 1-year-old — lying face down on a filthy single mattress in a bedroom

The affidavit said the room was filthy with no clear walkway throughout. There were nails in easy reach of the child, and the window had a gate over it.

Woods again told the officers that he was trying to clean the house but Phillips wouldn’t let him.

When officers asked if the children had food, he took them to the kitchen, where he struggled to open the refrigerator door. When he got it open, officers saw roaches inside the appliance, crawling over what food there was.

Neighbors told WTVC that the couple had been reported to the state multiple times in previously months.

“This child would just scream, and we would report it, and the police would go, and then the police would leave, and I never understood why nothing was getting done,” a neighbor said, noting that she had filed a report in October and again earlier this month, showing the station the documentation.

Chattanooga Police said they had been called to the home on November for a report of a missing 2-year-old, but the child was found by the time they arrived. They were called again in October for something else not related to the children, but the officer supposedly made a report to child protective services about the condition of the home.

Woods and Phillips have been charged with aggravated child neglect, while Woods is also facing a violation of his sex offender charges. The two children were removed from the home.