Prosecutor details charges of years of torturing children

California couple plead not guilty

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California couple tortured a dozen of their children for years, starving them to the point that their growth was stunted, chaining them to their beds for months at a time and forbidding them from showering more than once a year or using the toilet, a prosecutor said Thursday.

“The victimization appeared to intensify over time,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in announcing charges. “What started out as neglect became severe, pervasive, prolonged child abuse.”

David Turpin, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, were charged with multiple counts of torture, child abuse, dependent adult abuse and false imprisonment. David Turpin was also charged with performing a lewd act on a child under age 14.

On Sunday, a 17-year-old girl managed to escape and call 911. The girl and her siblings had plotted the escape for two years, Hestrin said. Another girl who escaped out a window with the teen turned back out of fear. Hestrin did not say what finally triggered the girl to act.

The victims range in age from 2 to 29. The torture and false imprisonment charges do not include the 2-year-old, who was not malnourished. All the children’s names begin with the letter J, according to court documents that didn’t provide their full names.

The parents were jailed on $12 million bail each after pleading not guilty Thursday at their first court appearance. If convicted, they could be sentenced to life in prison.

David Turpin’s lawyer, deputy public defender David Macher, had only begun to investigate the allegations, but he said the case was going to be a challenge.

“It’s a very serious case,” he said. “Our clients are presumed to be innocent.”