A Scranton mother is behind bars on $200,000 bail after investigators say she let her 7-year-old daughter's teeth rot so badly the girl could not chew solid food and lived with constant pain. Maria Lopez-Paz, 39, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child following an investigation that began last month at her home on the 300 block of Wheeler Avenue.
According to WDRB, Scranton police were called to the residence on September 10 after a case manager with the Lackawanna County Office of Youth and Family Services reported the child was not attending school because she had not been vaccinated. That referral also flagged concerns about the child not being fed and possible drug use inside the home, according to the criminal complaint detailed by Law & Crime. Pennsylvania health code requires children to receive immunizations such as polio, MMR, and DTaP before they can be admitted to public or private schools, which explains why the girl had been barred from the classroom.
Police scheduled an emergency interview and medical assessment with the child after the initial report, per the complaint cited by WDRB. During that process, the 7-year-old reportedly told investigators she raised concerns about cockroaches, rats and bugs in the home, and said she drank milk when she was hungry. She also told investigators, according to the complaint, that she was without pain only when she was asleep.
Dentist Visit Revealed Years of Neglect
Caseworkers took the girl to a dentist on September 14, and the findings were severe. The exam found she had no prior dental care at all, along with 10 cavities and large areas of decay that required multiple extractions and procedures, per the same complaint. The report also noted the girl had not seen a doctor since 2024, the same year the family relocated to Pennsylvania — a multi-year gap in basic medical oversight that investigators say coincided with the move.
Lopez-Paz was committed to Lackawanna County Prison on $200,000 bail following her arrest in late September, the station's report notes. The Lackawanna County Office of Youth and Family Services took emergency custody of the girl after the September 10 assessment of her living conditions, and the child remains in the county's care.
What Pennsylvania Law Says About Endangerment
Under Pennsylvania's child endangerment statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4304, a parent or guardian commits an offense if they knowingly endanger a child's welfare by violating a legal duty of care, protection, or support. That is the statute underlying the charge Lopez-Paz now faces, which covers both physical and medical neglect under state law.
Severe dental neglect of the kind described in the complaint is not an isolated phenomenon nationally. CDC surveillance data from 2024 found that nearly 18% of U.S. children ages 6 to 8 suffer from untreated tooth decay in their primary teeth, and the agency's oral health statistics show children in lower-income households are more than twice as likely to have untreated cavities compared with kids from higher-income families. The CDC also notes that untreated decay can cause chronic pain and infections severe enough to impair eating, speaking, and learning, contributing to more than 34 million lost school hours nationwide each year.
Preliminary Hearing Set for Mid-October
Lopez-Paz's preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 14 at 11 a.m. before District Judge Laura Turlip, following her preliminary arraignment. It remains unclear whether additional charges tied to the reported drug activity in the home will be filed, and the girl's ongoing medical treatment plan has not been detailed publicly. The outcome of the October 14 hearing will determine whether the case proceeds to Lackawanna County's trial court.
