ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Petersburg woman left a three-year-old boy alone and covered in feces, and he appeared to have consumed some of it, according to police.

Charlotte Esper, 28, charged with felony child neglect

Child found in room surrounded by clothes, toys, diapers all soiled by victim

Esper admitted to neglect, said she was in process of releasing custody of child

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Charlotte Esper, 28, was arrested Monday and charged with felony child neglect. Police said Esper left the boy alone in the home for an unknown period of time while she went grocery shopping.

According to the arrest report, a landlord let St. Petersburg Police and Child Protective Services into the home at 6:40 p.m. the day of Esper's arrest. Detectives said they found the boy in an office space located at the rear of the home, with the entrance secured by a child safety gate.

The room was left in disarray, with clothes, toys, used containers, soiled diapers, and garbage left on the ground. Police said all of those items were soiled with feces from the victim.

According to the report, the walls in the nude boy’s room were smeared with feces, his body was covered in dried feces, and he appeared to have been consuming the feces. CPS removed the boy from the home and have him in their custody.

“That’s just horrible and disgusting,” said Robert March, 50, who maintains a neighbor’s home. “For sure that child will be affected by that.”

Investigators waited for an hour before Esper returned home. Police said she admitted to the child neglect and advised that she was in the process of releasing custody of the child to an adoption agency.

Esper was released from the Pinellas Jail on Tuesday on a $5,000 bond.