Couple accused of monitoring kids with cameras, keeping food, bathrooms locked up get tentative plea deal

A tentative plea agreement has been worked out for an Allegheny Township couple charged in early February with multiple felonies after their three children told police they were under near-constant video surveillance and most of the food in the house is kept locked up.

Leann Marie Lawson, 35, and Nevin A. Lawson, 51, of the 100 block of Indian Hill Road, were charged Feb. 3 with three felony counts each of endangering the welfare of children.

Prior to a preliminary hearing Tuesday , April 5 before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec, the attorney representing the Lawsons reached a tentative plea agreement with assistant Westmoreland County prosecutor Anthony S. Iannamorelli Jr.

Iannamorelli confirmed that if the deal is accepted by a Westmoreland County judge, Nevin Lawson’s felony charges would be dropped if he agrees to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor count of child endangerment.

Charges against Leann Lawson would be dropped if she completes an Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition program, according to Iannamorelli.

Police began investigating the couple Jan. 18 after the children, boys in their mid-teens and a preteen girl, filed a ChildLine abuse report telling authorities their parents were intoxicated and arguing and they did not feel safe in the home.

One child told police locks were installed on the kitchen cabinets and a room containing two freezers full of food was kept locked. They said no meals were prepared, and the kids were not permitted to cook.

The Lawsons also were accused of locking three of the four bathrooms in the house, forcing them to share one in the basement, according to police.

The children are being cared for by family members, according to authorities.

Iannamorelli confirmed a separate hearing before a judge would have to be held to determine whether the children will be returned to the Lawsons.