I couldn't disagree with you more. The dad and stepmom who were newlyweds left their 9 year old son home alone to watch his autistic 5 year old brother. How is that "offensive" to society? Isn't that clearly neglect? I don't have any proof, but I bet this is not the first time these kids have been left alone.
Ooops. Missed that detail. I have an autistic son myself.
OTOH I have seen social services nazis destroy lives just because "well, we can't take chances, can we?"
On top of it, they had arranged for their new puppies to go stay with a dogsitter while they were away. Make sure the cute puppies are safe, but the hell with the kids. Sentence these two losers to about 10 years in a cage at the dog pound eating dog food, and give the cute puppies to the kids.