Four people have been charged with not reporting a shocking case of child abuse out of Berrien County.

Three Oaks Elementary educators Heidi Clark, Matt Cook, Diane Balling, and Sherrie Bender each are charged with two counts of Failing to Report Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect. Each charge is a 93 day misdemeanor.

In August 2016, a severely malnourished and abused 12-year-old boy weighing just 47 pounds was found walking along the railroad tracks in Galien Township. He was found with bruises, a cut lip and old cigarette burns, and he was so skinny, each rib was observable and well-defined, according to Berrien County officers. He said he ran away because he was “tired of being treated like a dog” and he “didn’t think he’d reach his 13th birthday.”

His father Aaron Zemke and step-mother Alicia Zemke were each given 20 to 80 year prison sentences earlier this year.