The attached video is from a report on Heier’s charges before 13 Action News obtained the search warrant.
HOLLAND, Ohio (WTVG) – Search warrants obtained by 13 Action News shed new light on the alleged child abuse happening in a Holland woman’s home before her arrest on numerous child endangerment charges.
Rachel Heier, 38, of Holland, is facing five counts of child endangerment charges after authorities found what they called “deplorable” conditions in her home. Lucas County Children Services (LCCS) removed the children in her care from the home.
The search warrant detailed allegations that an elementary school aged child she adopted may have been malnourished and forced to stay in a bedroom with a blacked out window for extended periods of time.
“[The referral] indicated the Adopted Mother, Rachel Heier, reported the child having food allergies, without any doctor documentation. The referral reported Heier giving the child lots of laxatives, two enemas within two hours, and only providing him baby formula on the weekend instead of food,” the warrant read.
An administrator at the child’s school told investigators the child did not look healthy and “looked like the kids in the commercial that suffered from malnutrition, that his stomach looked bloated,” the warrant read.
The child told interviewers he’d get 2-3 meals a day, but when he didn’t get a meal he got formula. The documentation said Heier would tell people the child had food allergies and health problems without documentation to back that up. Once the child was removed from her home, it was determined he did not have any allergies. He successfully gained weight and adopted an expanded diet under the care of a foster parent.
According to the documents, the child said in an interview that Heier would lock him in his room, referencing urinating and defecating in his room, but other kids in the house weren’t. He said sometimes he would be locked in his room until the next school day, and on weekends he’d remain in the room until Monday. He said he didn’t feel safe there.
Investigators said the child’s room had a blacked out window, a surveillance camera, an exposed closet without doors and a bed with a blanket, but was otherwise empty.
Ultimately, the warrant said counsel for LCCS determined Heier “perpetrated abuse and torture upon the alleged child victim and that she be charged with Child Endangerment.”
Authorities also obtained a search warrant for her cell phone the day she was booked into jail. Once she was released, law enforcement officers showed up at the home and seized her phone.
Heier was looking to volunteer with a local group that helps support foster children. She previously helped out at multiple events hosted by Isaiah 117 House Lucas County. The group helps children when they transition into the foster care system.
The organization said Heier was a “community partner” who was seeking to become a “certified volunteer but never completed a background check or went through the group’s “extensive child informed trauma training.”
She attended multiple events in support the organization.
“This individual has not been employed with Isaiah 117 House nor has had active communication with executive leadership since 2023,” the group said in a statement. “This individual did attend a kickoff event as a community member in April 2024, as did so many community members that have volunteered their time and resources to bring the mission of Isaiah 117 House to Lucas County. Currently Isaiah 117 House is in the construction phase of building a home to serve children entering foster care in Lucas County, Ohio. The closest Isaiah 117 House that is open and serving children are in Indiana.”
The organization said in order to become a certified Isaiah 117 House volunteer, all members must complete fingerprinting and an extensive background screening. This process takes six to eight weeks. All volunteers are then required to complete extensive child-informed trauma training that takes up to three months.
“While Isaiah 117 House welcomes all community support, we have a very rigid and rigorous screening process for anyone that comes in contact with the children and Department of Children and Youth Services employees not only in the state of Ohio, but nationwide,” the organization said in a statement.
Heier was a strong supporter of the organization and other efforts to combat child abuse in the community. 13 Action News presented Isaiah 117 House with a check for $1,300 last July to help the organization support foster children. Heier was among those with the group who attended the ceremony to accept the check.
13 Action News spoke with Ronda Paulson, the founder of Isaiah 117 House, who talked about the importance of her organization distancing themselves from Heier.
“She said, ‘I am being investigated,’ and we said well, you can no longer be a community supporter. Our policy reads that you can’t help out in any way if you have ever had a case or have a case against you, so at that point this community supporter did not support us any longer,” Paulson said.
On March 3, Heier turned herself in to Toledo Police. She went before Judge Eric Allen Marks in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
Heier was arraigned and released on her own recognizance. The judge ordered her to have no contact with the victim or children.
Latest Local News | First Alert Weather | Crime | National | 13abc Originals
Copyright 2025 WTVG. All rights reserved.
This article was published by WTVG on 2025-03-13 14:05:00
View Original Post
