California parents plead guilty to shackling,
torturing their children
The Associated Press 
David Turpin, far right, and wife Louise, far left, listen to the judge along with attorney Allison Lowe during a courtroom hearing Friday in Riverside, Calif. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)
A California couple pleaded guilty Friday to torture and years of abuse that included shackling some of their 13 children to beds and starving them to the point it stunted their growth.
David and Louise Turpin will spend at least 25 years in prison after entering the pleas in Riverside County Superior Court to 14 counts that included cruelty toward all but their toddler daughter, and imprisoning them in a house that appeared neatly kept outside, but festered with filth and reeked of human waste.
The couple was arrested in January 2018 when their 17-year-old daughter called 911 after escaping from the family's home in the city of Perris, about 96 kilometres southeast of Los Angeles.
The children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time, were severely underweight and hadn't bathed for months. They described being beaten, starved and put in cages.
David Turpin appeared stoic as he pleaded guilty, but Louise Turpin's face turned red and she began crying and dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
The two face prison terms of 25 years-to-life when they are sentenced April 19, Riverside District Attorney Mike Hestrin said. "The defendants ruined lives so I think it's just and fair that the sentence be equivalent to first-degree murder."
Louise and David Turpin face prison terms of 25 years-to-life when they are sentenced April 19, Riverside District Attorney Mike Hestrin said. (Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)
Hestrin said he was impressed by how resilient the children were when he met with them, though he said the guilty pleas were important to spare them from having to testify at a trial.
The couple had faced dozens of additional counts if they went to trial. During a preliminary hearing, a judge tossed out a single count involving their youngest daughter, finding she was the only child who didn't suffer abuse.
Children deprived of food, necessities
The Turpins had led a mostly solitary, but seemingly unremarkable life until the teenager jumped from a window and ran for help.
David Turpin, 57, had worked as an engineer for both Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Louise Turpin, 50, was listed as a housewife in a 2011 bankruptcy filing.
The family led a nocturnal existence and slept during the day, which kept them largely out of sight from neighbours in a middle-class subdivision.
In a recording of the 911 call played in court last year, the girl who escaped said two younger sisters and a brother were chained to their beds and she couldn't take it any longer.
"They will wake up at night and they will start crying and they wanted me to call somebody," she said in a high-pitched voice. "I wanted to call y'all so y'all can help my sisters."
The intervention by authorities marked a new start for the children who lived in such isolation that the teen who called for help didn't know her address and some of her siblings didn't understand the role of the police when they arrived at the house.
Two girls had been hastily released from their chains when police showed up but a 22-year-old son remained shackled.
The young man said he and his siblings had been suspected of stealing food and being disrespectful, a detective testified. The man said he had been tied up with ropes at first and then, after learning to wriggle free, restrained with increasingly larger chains on and off over six years.
A police car drives past the Turpin home in Perris, Calif., back in January 2018.
(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)
Authorities said the children were deprived of food and things other kids take for granted, such as toys and games, and were allowed to do little except write in journals.
Although the parents filed reports with the state that they home-schooled their children, the oldest child had only completed the third grade and a 12-year-old couldn't recite the full alphabet.
An investigator testified that some suffered from severe malnutrition and muscle wasting, including an 11-year-old girl who had arms the size of an infant.
The kids, whose names all begin with the letter J, were rarely allowed outside, though they went out on Halloween and travelled as a family to Disneyland and Las Vegas, investigators said. The children spent most of their time locked in their rooms except for limited meals or using the bathroom.
'They can now move forward with their lives'
All the children were hospitalized immediately after they were discovered. Riverside County authorities then obtained temporary conservatorship over the adults.
Jack Osborn, an attorney who represents the seven adult children in probate court, said they were happy the guilty plea spared them from testifying.
"They are relieved they can now move forward with their lives and not have the spectre of a trial hanging over their heads and all the stress that would have caused," Osborn said.
Neighbour Marcela Torres leaves a message for the children on the front door of the Turpin home.
(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)
(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)
The adult children are all living together, attending school and getting healthy while leading lives similar to their peers. He said they value their privacy.
The social services agency tasked with overseeing the younger children declined to comment on their cases, citing confidentiality laws.
Jessica Borelli, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychological science at University of California, Irvine, said children who suffer such trauma face many challenges but she has seen people make miraculous recoveries. The guilty pleas from their parents, she said, could help, especially since many abuse survivors struggle with feelings of self-doubt.
"It is a pretty clear affirmation of how they were mistreated," she said. "If there is any part of them that needs validation that how they were treated was wrong and was abuse, this is it."
The children have not spoken publicly, though they will be allowed to speak at the sentencing if they choose to, Hestrin said.
"I was very taken by their optimism, by their hope for the future, for their future," Hestrin said. "They have a zest for life and huge smiles and I am optimistic for them and I think that's how they feel about their future."
69y/o Texas man facing charges of indecency,
continuous sexual abuse of child
John Tufts, San Angelo Standard-TimesSAN ANGELO — Deputies with the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office arrested a 69-year-old San Angelo man last week after he was indicted on charges of indecency with a child and continuous sexual abuse of a child, court documents state.
Deputies arrested Hector Naegele Nunez on Feb. 14, 2019, where he was booked into Tom Green County Jail and released the next day in lieu of $130,000 bond.
A trial for Nunez has been tentatively scheduled for August 2019, according to online court records.
A grand jury also indicted the man on charges he inappropriately touched a child younger than age 17 in July 2000, a second-degree felony, according to an indictment.
Oklahoma couple arrested for rape and child abuse
The couple were a nurse and a corrections officer
By Andrew Brasier ALTUS, OK (TNN) - A married Altus couple has been arrested on multiple felony charges according to a press release from Altus Police Chief Tim Murphy.
39-year-old John Carl Welker and 43-year-old Patricia Lynn Welker were arrested Friday, February 22 on charges of First Degree Rape, Forcible Sodomy and Willfully or Maliciously Engages in Enabling Child Sexual Abuse.
According to the press release, the couple are accused of abusing 3 children. The oldest victim, now 22 years old, told investigators the sexual abuse began when she was 9 and continued until she was 21.
John Welker is a former corrections officer and Patricia Welker is a registered nurse. They were both taken to the Jackson County Jail, where they are awaiting their initial court appearance.
$252,000 bond set in two child sexual assault cases
in North Dakota
By Daniela Hurtado in North Dakota
MANDAN, N.D. - UPDATE: More charges have been filed against Jeremy Frohlich, but now in Burleigh County.
The affidavit says Frohlich is accused of touching a child inappropriately in Bismarck. Documents say Frohlich is also accused of making the girl touch him.
The affidavit say Frohlich denied to officers the allegations made against him.
Police say they asked him about his opinion on whether or not a person who molests kids needs psychiatric help and Frohlich is accused of breaking down in tears. Officers say Frohlich told them he needed help.
He needed help a long time ago!
Burleigh County Judge James Hill set Frohlich’s bond to $250,000 in cash and no contact with the victim.
The affidavit says 33-year-old Jeremy Frohlich is accused of touching a child younger than 10-years-old multiple times inappropriately.
Documents say the girl told investigators he used a white substance to touch her that he kept next to the bed in the night stand.
Police say they did a forensic interview with a 16-year-old who says several years prior, Frohlich touched him inappropriately. The affidavit says Frohlich is accused of making a boy touch his genitals and put also “put a cream down there.”
Friday, Mandan Police Department executed a search warrant of Frohlich’s home where they found lubricant in the nightstand and a bag inside the closet with several different kinds of lubricants.
Frohlich is charged with two counts of class A felony gross sexual imposition. A judge set his bond Monday at $2,000 in cash and to have no contact with the victims.
Alabama man charged with child sex abuse
Shannon Scott Self is being held in the Marshall County Jail with a $250,000 bond, according to Steve Guthrie, sheriff’s office spokesman.
Guthrie said no further information can be released at this time due to the sensitivity of the case.
Alabama man, 47, faces charges for years of
child sex abuse
By Neal Wagnerchild sex abuse
COLUMBIANA – A 47-year-old Alabaster man is being held in the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $16,000, after he was arrested and charged with sexually abusing an underage victim over a multiple-year period.
The charges came after Colin-Martinez allegedly subjected a victim younger than 12 years old to sexual contact by touching her genitals and breasts “numerous times for several years,” according to Colin-Martinez’ arrest warrant.
Sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 is a Class B felony, and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison upon conviction.
As of Feb. 25, Colin-Martinez did not yet have a court date listed in Shelby County District Court.
Pennsylvania man arrested for 5 years of
child sexual abuse
By: Myles Snyder ANNVILLE, Pa. (WHTM) - An Annville man has been arrested on charges he sexually abused a teenaged girl for a period of five years.
Lebanon County detectives said the sexual assaults began when the girl was 13 years old and continued until she was 17. They said the abuse occurred in a home in 300 block of Weavertown Road.
Bradburn was arrested Feb. 15 and placed in Lebanon County Correctional facility in lieu of $250,000 bail. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing last Thursday, according to court records.
Virginia youth pastor pleads guilty to child sex abuse
MANASSAS, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - A former youth pastor from Virginia pleaded guilty on Monday in connection with a child sex abuse case involving a teen from his church.
Baird is the son of the head pastor at Life Church (3rd story on link).
Baird is looking at up to 10 years in prison and will be sentenced in May.
A jury convicted Baird last year for sexually abusing a different 16-year-old from the church.
Baird served less than a year behind bars for the first offense, and had to register as a sex offender.
Pedophile to be extradited from California to Texas on
child sex abuse charge
By KRISTIN HOPPA khoppa@wacotrib.com A registered sex offender in California is set to be brought back to McLennan County on charges that he sexually abused a boy in China Spring for a year and failed to register while he was here, officials said Friday.
Sheriff's office investigators got a report Daul had sexually abused an 8-year-old boy in China Spring starting in June 2017, and the boy told them a 10-year-old girl had witnessed the abuse, according to an arrest affidavit. Officials learned Daul had moved to McLennan County in 2017 and lived in the China Spring area more than a year before the boy reported the alleged abuse, January said. Daul left in July last year, January said.
He was registered as a sex offender in California, with his address listed as "transient" but had not registered while living in McLennan County, according to the arrest affidavit. He had been convicted of two sex crimes against children in California.
"If he thought he could come to McLennan County and hide out, he was wrong," Sheriff Parnell McNamara said. "We will absolutely not tolerate a registered sex offender from California coming to our county and abusing an 8-year-old child."
Daul was arrested last week in the San Francisco area after local officials got the two felony warrants against him.
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