From staff reports
A Seneca woman is facing charges for endangering the welfare of a child under her supervision.
Franklin state police said they were contacted July 24 by witnesses who observed a young boy walking across his front yard toward Route 257.
The boy was later determined to be the son of Heather Rupp, 32, of Seneca, the complaint said.
He was “mostly non-verbal and could not provide us with any information about where he lived or where he came from,” the complaint said. The complaint also stated that the officer later learned the child was autistic.
The officer used information from the phone to locate Rupp at the Pin Oak Village Apartments, according to the complaint.
The child then climbed out the front window, which caused bruises on his arm, and started wandering around the area “for an unknown amount of time,” the complaint said.
The complaint also noted that three weeks earlier, the child had to be escorted off Route 257 while traffic was flowing in both directions.
Rupp was not aware of the her son’s whereabouts either time, the complaint said.
Rupp was charged with a felony count of endangering the welfare of children, and her preliminary hearing is scheduled Wednesday in Venango County Central Court.
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