A man and woman from Texas are facing allegations of aggravated sexual assault of a child after a woman who says she was the man's live-in girlfriend called police warning "children are in danger at this house."
According to court documents, Sgt. Phillip Conklin with the Merkel Police Department visited the child's home after receiving the call from Theresa Trotter on Oct. 7, 2017.[[484090841,R]]
When Conklin arrived, Trotter said she was living at the home with her boyfriend, Daniel Tilbe, and the man's 9-year-old daughter.
She then showed Conklin a room in the residence where she said the child slept, noting that the room was covered in feces and that the child often slept in an animal bed that was also covered in waste.
Conklin called the Texas Department of Family Protective Services who interviewed everyone at the home that evening, though details of that interview were not released.
Court documents said a DFPS investigator then interviewed the child, who revealed that Daniel Tilbe attempted to have sex with her when she was 7-years-old.
A nurse was then requested to perform an exam looking for forensic evidence of sexual assault. During the exam the child again recounted her experience with her father while identifying genitalia and what took place on a diagram.
On Nov. 30, 2017, the child was taken to Heart of Texas Child Advocacy Center in Early for a forensic interview in which she again recalled the alleged assault by her dad and also disclosed numerous alleged assaults by her mother, identified by police as 49-year-old Jeanette Tilbe, that started when she was about 5 years old.
Warrants were issued May 24 for both Daniel Tilbe, who turned 57 on May 29, and Jeanette Violet Tilbe. The pair were arrested and are being held in the Taylor County Jail on one count each of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Both are being held on $100,000 bond.
It is not clear if the accused have obtained an attorney or if they have any other children.
Merkel is located about 15 miles west of Abilene.
