California Couple Sentenced to Life in Prison for Torturing 12 of Their Children

David and Louise Turpin sentenced during hearing that saw some of the children speak publicly about the abuse for the first time

Associated Press in Riverside, California

Taken from the open Facebook page of Louise and David Turpin. Photograph: Facebook

A California couple who pleaded guilty to years of torture and abuse of 12 of their 13 children have been sentenced to life in prison with possibility of parole after 25 years.

David and Louise Turpin were sentenced on Friday during an emotional hearing that saw some of the children speak publicly about the abuse for the first time.

Louise Turpin wept as she apologized for hurting her children, while her husband David Turpin struggled to give a short statement.

One of their daughters, weeping, said in court that “My parents took my whole life from me but now I’m taking my life back.”

Some of the other children said they still love their parents. One asked for a lighter sentence because “they believed everything they did was to protect us”.

It is the first time the children have spoken publicly since the arrest of their parents. They have the right to address the court to say how they have been affected by the abuse.

Their parents watched in tears, as their children related the nightmares about being chained and beaten.

The sentencing came just over a year after the Turpins’ 17-year-old daughter jumped out of a window of the family’s squalid home and called 911. She reported that some of her siblings were chained to their beds and that she hadn’t bathed in months.

The 17-year-old girl had lived such an isolated life that she didn’t know her address and didn’t know what medication meant. Most of the children ranging in age from two to 29 were severely underweight.

 David Allen Turpin and Louise Ann Turpin’s booking photos.

David Turpin’s lawyer read part of a statement because he was too upset. “My homeschooling and discipline had good intentions,” he said. “I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to cause them harm.”

Louise Turpin spoke for herself, saying, “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to hurt my children. I love my children so much … I only want the best for them."

The couple appeared in Riverside county superior court for a proceeding that was largely a formality.

They pleaded guilty in February to torture and other abuse and agreed to serve at least 25 years in prison.

Romanian Police Free Five Young Men & Boys from Slavery, Inhumane Conditions

38 remanded as Romanian police free 'slaves'

AFP

Residents of Berevoiesti, where dozens of vulnerable young men and boys were kidnapped and taken into modern-day slavery, are pictured in the streets of the village on July 14, 2016 (AFP Photo/Mircea Restea)

Berevoesti (Romania) (AFP) - Romanian authorities remanded 38 people in custody on Thursday suspected of holding dozens of vulnerable young men and boys like slaves, chaining them up and forcing them to fight, authorities said.

They were arrested followed large-scale police raids on Wednesday in Berevoesti, 170 kilometres (105 miles) north of Bucharest, when five people including two boys aged 10 and 12 were freed.


Berevoesti, Romania

The captives were "attached with chains and straps... beaten (and) humiliated", starved of food and fed on scraps, prosecutors from the DIICOT organised crime investigation unit said.

They were "left fully naked, cold and hot water being thrown alternatively on them. Their hands and feet were tied and they were told to eat off the ground or to fight each other to amuse the suspects," they said.

Since 2008, some 40 victims were "captured in public places, near churches or train stations, or at their homes" and forced to do household chores, look after animals and do illegal logging, prosecutors said.

Ninety people from Gamacesti, a Roma district within the municipality of Berevoesti in the Arges region, were initially thought to have been involved.


Berevoesti, Romania

"Their treatment was terrible," said Mihaela Porime, a spokeswoman for the DIICOT. Some of the victims are believed to have suffered sexual abuse as well, prosecutors said.

Those freed on Wednesday "had visible traces of open wounds all over their bodies, particularly their scalps. They appeared physically and psychologically traumatised," Adrian Macovei from the DGASPC child protection agency told local media.

Local inhabitants told journalists on Thursday that they didn't believe the claims, saying that the boys had been homeless orphans and that they were not mistreated.

"These people, if they came to work in our home, we'd give them food, we gave them shelter, we didn't do anything bad to them," said one woman who refused to give her name.

"They were unhappy, with no mother or father. We felt sorry for them. They were like our children," she told AFP.

Berevoesti's mayor Florin Proca said he was "stunned".

"I couldn't imagine that in 2016 such soulless people could exist. I have seen shocking photos of the slaves, people held against their will, abused," he told AFP.

    Berevoesti, Romania