Late Friday, the agency responded to our request for more information with a written report of its findings.
The Johnston County Department of Social Services was called to the home after Dickens' phone call and assumed emergency custody of Dickens' youngest son. However, since then, the agency reviewed its records and found staff had looked into Dickens' involvement with his children on two separate instances after receiving complaints.
One was in April 2024 and the other in June 2024.
"These reports were not accepted as meeting the statutory definitions of abuse, neglect, or dependency and were, thus, screened out. Services are not rendered in reports that are not accepted as meeting the statutory definitions of abuse, neglect, or dependency," the report read.
In April 2024, staff visited the home in the 100 block of Springtooth Lane in Zebulon and said that based on their findings, there was not enough information to report any specific action or inaction on the part of Dickens that resulted in harm or injury to his children. Additionally, the report's findings conclude that there was no information to suggest that Dickens' children could not stay at home unsupervised while he was out of the home. Further, the death of Dickens' wife, who died last year following pregnancy complications, was also not seen as affecting the children's safety or well-being at the home during that time.
In an additional report that was filed in mid-June 2024, again, JCDSS said there was not enough information to show Dickens' children were harmed by any action or inaction.
Following Dickens' October arrest, he told investigators that he had buried a fifth child in the backyard of the family's Zebulon home. Written findings in the report conclude that there was not enough information to determine that the child's death was the result of neglect, abuse, or maltreatment.
"There was no information to confirm that the child(ren) had been left alone or inappropriately supervised, as the parent could have made alternative arrangements for the older siblings to assist in watching the younger children during their absence," the written report concluded.
However, when JCDSS arrived at the home following Dickens' telephonic confession, the agency assumed emergency custody of his youngest son. Because it is an ongoing child protective services case, no other information was immediately released.