CONQUEST -- A Conquest couple faced a judge Monday night for child endangerment charges after police say they found their 6-month-old baby living in unsanitary conditions.

31-year-old David Meeks and 30-year-old Rhode Wing, of Egypt Road in the Cayuga County town of Conquest, were arraigned Monday night.  But the Judge would not accept a plea from either of them because they did not have a lawyer.  Meeks told the Judge that their child is back in their home, after being taken from their custody last week.

Outside the courtroom, Meeks told CNY Central he is "in enough trouble" and didn't want to talk with us.

The couple lives on the same property as Lester and Mary Wing who are facing animal cruelty charges. Animal cruelty investigators say 10 horses were found there last week living in deplorable conditions. Officials say they were forced to live in tiny stalls and were buried up to their bellies in manure. Officials say one of the horses and a dog had to be put down immediately. 

The Egypt Road property has since been condemned because of a number of code violations. "We can not find proper septic systems. There has also been no water to them, illegal portable water.  Plus he just has that major accumulation of junk and trash that are part of the rodent infestation which just makes it unsanitary to live in that type of an environment," said Code Enforcement Officer Ted Kriese.

The town says it needs help from state officials. It's hoping the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Attorney General's office will help Conquest clean up the property.

"It's never gotten to this level but I think with what we saw we have never been able to do an inspection there either. We finally got in there to be able to do an inspection and look at what we found," said Town Supervisor Charles Knapp. "We've had the state involved and have gone all the way from the DEC right up to the Attorney General's office, saying they are going to do something about the property and nothing has been done."

Meeks and Wing are due back in court regarding the child endangerment charge on May 21st at 7:00 p.m. If convicted, they could face up to a year in jail and $1,000 fine.