BRIENSBURG, Ky. (AP) - A western Kentucky woman was charged with criminal abuse after authorities found her seven children malnourished and living without food, water and electricity.

Andrea Lynch, of Briensburg in Marshall County, was arrested Monday evening. Marshall County Sheriff Kevin Byars, said the children, ranging in age from 11 months to 11 years, were living in an old mobile home and two nearby campers.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Service's Division of Protection and Permanency asked the sheriff's department to investigate on Friday.

There was no food in the house, and water and electricity had been cut off, Byars said. The children were evaluated at Marshall County Hospital and found to be malnourished, Byars said.

All seven children were placed in foster care. Byars said the sheriff's department continued to investigate.

"It was pretty shoddy living conditions," Byars said.
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Information from: The Paducah Sun, http://www.paducahsun.com

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