WARNER, N.H. (AP) – The parents of five children, ordered to leave their squalid home earlier this month, have been charged with endangering the welfare of their children.

Police Sgt. Scott Leppard said Bryon Ruff turned himself over to police Wednesday morning and Wendy Ruff turned herself in around 2:15 p.m. Each faces five counts of child endangerment for each of their children ages 11 to 17. Leppard said both parents were released pending their court dates.

The endangerment charges are misdemeanors that carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail.

These are separate from abuse or neglect charges that can result in the state taking custody of children.

“We felt, based on the conditions we saw, that a crime had been committed,” Leppard said.

Two weeks ago, town health officer Charles Durgin found conditions inside the family’s house to be unhealthy enough to condemn it. Among other things, officials say the house was full of garbage and animal waste. A total of 57 pets and farm animals were removed from the property and placed in shelters.

Police accompanied Durgin on the house inspection. Leppard said Wednesday he found no edible food for the children in the house, and he found pornographic photos had been pinned up near where they slept on soiled mattresses.

Since being evicted on Aug. 9, the family has cleaned up the house and was allowed to return.

State child welfare officials, however, have not moved to take custody of the Ruff children. Nancy Rollins, director of the state’s Division for Children, Youth and Families, said state law sets a high bar for proving that abuse or neglect merits separating children from their families.

The division has visited the Ruff home more than 20 times over the past few years, including several times after the house was condemned.

The Ruffs are scheduled to appear in Henniker District Court on Sept. 15.

AP-ES-08-24-05 1646EDT