California couple abused children in ‘horrific’ conditions

US - A California couple face multiple charges of torture and child abuse after ten children were discovered in “horrific” conditions in a suburban home. Jonathan Allen, 29, the children’s father, denies seven counts of torture and nine charges of abusing the children, who are aged between four months and 12 years old, at their home in Fairfield, north of San Francisco. The mother, Ina Rogers, 31, will be charged with nine counts of child abuse prosecutors said. In strong echoes of the ongoing prosecution of David and Louise Turpin, the sheriff’s office in Solano county said the children were rescued from the filthy house in March. They had suffered puncture wounds, burns, bruising and injuries consistent with being shot with a pellet gun. Sharon Henry, the county’s chief deputy district attorney, said they were tortured “for sadistic purposes”. They were discovered when police responding to a missing juvenile report visited the address and found a home filled with rotted food and human and animal waste. Stories about the alleged abuse have emerged gradually in interviews with the children who are now in care. Eight of the children told professionals about incidents dating back several years, authorities said. It was not clear whether any California government agencies had an opportunity to intervene to prevent the abuse. However, Wanda Rogers, the children’s maternal grandmother, told local TV that she suspected the children were being abused, calling Allen a “monster”. “He would take the baby and slap it in the face and put duct tape on the baby’s mouth to make it shut up,” she told KNTV in San Francisco. The child’s mother, Ina Rogers, told reporters that social services interviewed the children three years ago when her mother “had mentioned something” that prompted a home visit. However, nothing came of the investigation. “My kids were placed back with me,” she told reporters. Solano child welfare officials did not immediately respond on Tuesday to a request for details about the visit, or information about other contact they may have had with the family.

(The Guardian)