A California couple has been charged with torture after police rescued their 13 malnourished children from a home where some of them had been chained to beds, and neighbours on Monday described the family as shut-ins who shunned social contact. Reuters reports, Police made the discovery after a 17-year-old girl escaped the house in Perris, about 70 miles (113 km) east of Los Angeles, and used a cellular phone she had found in the house to call them, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said on Monday.
“Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults,” police said in a statement. “The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty.” The children ranged in age from 2 to 29, police said.
The couple's 17-year-old daughter managed to escape from the address in Muir Woods Road, Perris, on Sunday morning Riverside County Sheriff's Department said. She was able to call 911 from a mobile phone where she told officers her 12 brothers and sisters were being held captive inside the house by her parents.
After a brief interview with the teen, who police said looked 10-years-old, officers contacted her parents. "Further investigation revealed several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings, but the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner," a police statement read.
Deputies found what they thought to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover seven were actually adults ranging in age from 18 to 29. "The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty," the statement continued.
"All 13 victims, ranging from the age of two to 29, were transported to the Perris Station and interviewed. Both parents were detained and transported to the station for further investigation. Child Protective Services (CPS) and Adult Protective Services (APS) arrived to assist in the investigation."
The victims were provided with food and drink after claiming to be starving, a police spokesman said. "The six children were eventually transported to the Riverside University Hospital System (RUHS) for medical examinations and admitted for treatment. The seven adult children were transported to Corona Regional Medical Center for an examination and admitted for medical treatment.
Both parents were interviewed in this matter and subsequently transported to the Robert Presley Detention Center (RPDC). They were booked for violations of California Penal Code Section 206–Torture and Section 273a(A)–Child Endangerment. Bail was set at $9,000,000.00 each."
