Two women in Jefferson County, Pa., are each facing more than 900 criminal charges after authorities say a teenage boy in their care was starved, confined and violently abused — leaving him at just 79 lbs. when he was removed from the home.
Court dockets show Sarah Faber, 37, is charged with 947 counts and Amy Billotte, 51, is charged with 959 counts. The alleged offenses include unlawful restraint of a minor, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, involuntary servitude, reckless endangerment and terroristic threats.
Both women are being held at the Jefferson County Jail on $500,000 bail.
School officials contacted police on Sept. 8, 2025, after noticing the teen appeared severely malnourished and dehydrated — and had reportedly lost more than 20 pounds since the previous school year, according to WJAC, WTAE, The Courier-Express and ExploreJeffersonPA. The outlets reported the teen was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, where medical staff documented signs of malnutrition and physical abuse.
According to a criminal complaint cited by WJAC, ExploreJeffersonPA and The Courier-Express, the teen told investigators he was confined to his bedroom “all day,” including during the summer. The complaint also alleges 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 limit how far they could open.
The teen also 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, according to WJAC and ExploreJeffersonPA.
He told police he did not have a mattress or clothes to sleep in, and that he was locked in the basement for several days as punishment, the outlets reported. He also alleged he was pushed down the stairs and cut with a knife, resulting in injuries including a shoulder wound that left scarring.
The complaint further claims 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.”
Markle added that the teen’s recovery is expected to take time. “It’s going to be a long road to recovery for this individual,” he told WTAE, calling the case “very sad, tragic, heartbreaking,” and noting it also took a toll on responding officers.
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.
