Los Angeles Times

Teen posted videos before rescue

- By Alene Tchekmedyi­an alene.tchekmedyi­an@latimes.com

One of the 13 siblings found living captive in a Perris home in January had posted a video of herself on social media days before she and her siblings were rescued, according to a new report.

The 17-year-old girl, who escaped and alerted authoritie­s to the alleged abuse, posted a series of recordings on YouTube that show her singing inside the home, ABC7 Eyewitness News reported.

“You blame me for everything, you blame me in every way, you blame me for what they say, what they say,” she sings in one video, which she posted using an alias.

Her parents, David and Louise Turpin, are accused of inflicting severe abuse and torture on the siblings, who range in age from 2 to 29.

Prosecutor­s say the Turpins punished their children by beating and choking them, tying them to beds for weeks or months at a time, depriving them of food, and forcing them to stay up all night and sleep during the day.

Authoritie­s learned of the family after the 17-yearold called 911 saying she had escaped through a window of the house, where she and her siblings had been trapped. She’d used a deactivate­d cellphone to make the call, Riverside County sheriff ’s officials have said.

Prosecutor­s filed dozens of charges against the parents, who have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they face up to life in prison.

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