MADISON — A woman who illegally operated a dog kennel southwest of Madison and lived in a filthy home with two kids was sentenced to a short jail term on Monday.
Megan Mahlin, 38, formerly of rural Madison, was sentenced by County Judge Donna Taylor to 30 days in jail for child abuse and violating county zoning ordinances. Mahlin was given credit for 1 day previously served and will spend 22 additional days in jail with good behavior.
Mahlin was previously charged with 11 zoning violations. But she pleaded guilty to a single zoning violation count on Monday in exchange for the Madison County Attorney’s Office agreeing to dismiss the remaining 10 counts and recommend probation.
On June 28, Mahlin pleaded guilty to negligent child abuse.
The zoning charges were filed against Mahlin in May after authorities found she had been operating a commercial dog kennel on her property without obtaining a conditional-use permit in violation of adopted Madison County zoning ordinances.
Joe Smith, Madison County attorney, has said police reports indicated that Mahlin had at least 20 to 30 dogs in her care without a conditional-use permit. Troy Uhlir, chairman of the county board of commissioners, said that number likely was close to 60 or 70 dogs at one point, and Mahlin should have obtained a conditional-use permit once she reached four dogs.
Neighbors of Mahlin had apparently dealt with dogs running at large for a several-month period, possibly longer. One neighbor said she couldn’t walk to her mailbox without at least one dog running after her, Uhlir said. Another issue with the dogs is that they regularly chased livestock on neighboring property.
Each of the original 11 counts against Mahlin was representative of every day from March 4 to March 14 that she did not obtain a permit to run the kennel. Smith said both zoning officials and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office repeatedly called for Mahlin to acquire a permit.
An investigation into Mahlin’s dog kennel was rooted in her arrest last September, when authorities arrived at her house with a search warrant because of concerns that the house had poor living conditions and multiple children lived there.
On Sept. 14, 2021, as a deputy and an investigator attempted to enter Mahlin’s residence, a pack of 20 to 30 dogs approached the law enforcement officers aggressively, with one of the dogs biting the investigator, according to an affidavit.
After entering the home, the deputy said he immediately smelled the odor of feces and spoiled food. There also were piles of dog feces throughout the entire house.
Near a couch that one of three children was sleeping on, there were several prescription bottles with Mahlin’s name on them and a can of alcohol, according to the affidavit. There also was reportedly a large pile of trash next to the couch.
Near a bed was another pile of garbage with several opened cans of dog food with sharp lids.
Moreover, authorities found a refrigerator with an interior that was allegedly covered in spilled foods and had a foul odor; a bathroom sink with no water supply and slat and plaster exposed on all the walls; a broken glass bottle and exposed medical tools; and a bucket with a stagnant pool of water that was full of bugs.
At Mahlin’s sentencing, deputy Madison County attorney Joe Hurd detailed to Taylor what law enforcement saw at Mahlin’s residence. Hurd said authorities also observed a swarm of flies in the home, plus a bucket full of water and bugs in the basement.
Matthew Headley, Madison County public defender, said present-day Megan Mahlin is different from last year’s Megan Mahlin.
“I understand that listening to what Mr. Hurd presented can be a little concerning to the court,” Headley said. “Looking at the age of that case, it was a different time for Ms. Mahlin. She has made a number of different changes in her life and her situation and has put this terrible situation behind her.”
Headley asked the judge to sentence Mahlin to probation on both the zoning violation and child abuse cases. Probation would allow Mahlin to “make good progress forward,” he said.
Taylor asked Mahlin what happened to all the dogs, and Headley called the matter a “complicated situation” that he didn’t want to speak about in court. Headley did say a number of the dogs were donated to an animal shelter so that they could be adopted.
The judge told Mahlin that if she truly wanted probation, she could ask for a continuance of her sentencing so that she could undergo a substance abuse evaluation and have a presentence investigation report completed. Mahlin passed on Taylor’s offer and chose to be sentenced on Monday.
In addition to being sentenced in two of her cases, Mahlin also appeared before Taylor on a felony drug charge. She had been arrested by the Norfolk Police Division on Aug. 4 on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine.
Mahlin waived her right to a preliminary hearing on the felony charge and had her case bound over to Madison County District Court, where she is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, Sept. 22.