An Austin man was arrested and his children placed in foster care following a search warrant by multiple law enforcement agencies for items related to sexual abuse charges, according to Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi.

Robert James Arens, 29, has been charged with three counts of third-degree sexual abuse in Mitchell County, Iowa, Amazi said, adding that the alleged crimes involve a 14-year-old girl.

The sheriff said St. Angsar, Iowa, police, Austin police and Mower County deputies executed the warrant in search of Arens and evidence at 201 Second Ave. S.W. around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Amazi said the house was in disarray when police arrived, with “animal feces, flies, bugs and garbage” throughout the house. Three children, ages 3, 5 and 7, were removed from the home and placed in foster care, the sheriff stated. She also believed a cell phone was confiscated.

Arens is in jail awaiting extradition to Iowa.