The Turpin Kids > Trying to Survive in an Alien World - Still Struggling with the Horrors of Home

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Some ‘House of Horrors’ Turpin siblings finding life ‘impossible’

after parents’ torture: lawyer

By Joshua Rhett Miller

NY Post

February 13, 2023 3:21pm  Updated

An attorney for the tortured Turpin siblings said that life outside their parents’ “House of Horrors” is “impossible” for some of them to navigate.

Five years after fleeing her family home in Perris, California — where she and her 12 siblings were starved and shackled by their parents — Jordan Turpin is a rising social media star and aspiring motivational speaker who has also inked a modeling deal.

But Jordan, now 22, and the rest of her siblings are still traumatized by the nightmarish physical, mental and emotional abuse doled out by their sadistic parents, their attorney told The Post.

“It’s a mixed bag,” attorney Elan Zektser, who represents five of the Turpins, said of their recovery. “All of them are doing fantastic in terms of what they’ve gone through. But if we’re comparing them to everyone else, and where they should be, a number of them are in some serious trouble.”

The Turpin family

After Jordan Turpin spoke out about navigating the world outside her parents’ “House of Horrors,” a lawyer for some of her 12 siblings told The Post that some of her brothers and sisters are having “serious trouble” figuring out how to be free adults.

Jordan, then 17, escaped her parents’ barbaric abuse in January 2018 via a bedroom window and called cops, ultimately freeing her siblings, who then ranged in age from 2 to 29. A year later, David and Louise Turpin were sentenced to life in prison. One of their sons, Joshua, who is now around 30, told a judge at their sentencing that he still suffered from nightmares of his sisters and brothers being chained up.

Sisters Jennifer (left) and Jordan Turpin are doing well in the world, while also dealing with their trauma.

Jennifer Turpin/ Instagram

The five Turpins represented by Zektser, now in their early 20s, are still haunted and stunted by their captivity, he said.

“How do you navigate the world when you weren’t exposed to it as a child?” Zektser said. “It’s impossible.”

The siblings are scrambling to learn everything from how to handle money to engaging with other people, particularly strangers, he said.

“Just talking, you know?” Zektser continued on their current hurdles. “They didn’t go to school — how do you even know grammar, or how to interact with other people?”

And the depraved, relentless exploitation of some of the children didn’t end after their parents were arrested and charged by the Riverside County DA’s office, Zektser said. A foster family caring for six of the younger children sexually and physically abused them, authorities allege. Marcelino Olguin, 64, his wife, Rosa, 59, and their daughter Lennys, 38, were released on bail after pleading not guilty last March.

“They will tell you, if they could, they were emotionally abused more in that foster care house than they were in their own tortuous home,” Zektser told The Post of those six siblings. “They were retraumatized and due to already being fragile, they were made 10 times worse.”

“I can assure you – I know – that behind the closed doors and 

when the curtains go down at night, there’s a lot more going on in that head.”

Attorney Elan Zektser on Jordan Turpin

Lawsuits filed in July on behalf of the alleged victims detail a harrowing scene in the Olguin home, located less than 10 miles from the Turpins’ former “House of Horrors” residence.

The Olguins and their daughter subjected the six Turpin siblings to severe physical, sexual and emotional abuse, allegedly urging them to commit suicide and threatening to return them to their “biological parents,” according to one of the suits.

Jordan Turpin in the February 2023 issue of Elle

Jordan Turpin recounts her life after escape in the February 2023 edition of Elle magazine.

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes.

Styled by Sarah Zendejas.

Text + interview by Carrie Battan.

Photographed by: Lindsey Byrnes

Jordan recently signed a modeling deal.

jordan__turpin/Instagram

The foster family allegedly also made the siblings “recount in detail the horrors” they suffered while with their parents and forced them to eat their own vomit, according to the lawsuit, which named ChildNet Youth Family Services and Riverside County as defendants.

Several nonprofit agencies — including one founded by Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was famously abducted as an 11-year-old in 1991 and held captive for 18 years — have raised a “substantial” amount of money on their behalf.

“But then that causes some difficulties because you can’t just give someone a substantial amount and expect them to know what to do with it,” Zektser said. “Plus, a lot of them are on government assistance and you would lose that assistance if you obtain that amount, and so it’s not that easy. It’s a very difficult situation.”

Eldest sister Jennifer Turpin aspires to be a nurse.

Jennifer Turpin/ Instagram

The siblings also have a collective lack of “mentorship,” he added, to deal with life as well as seeing their pain sensationalized in the media, Zektser said.

“That attracts even worse people, who want to leech onto that,” he said. “And that’s what’s happened to a lot of them.”

Jordan, in contrast, is supported by a “great team” around her as she restarts her life in Southern California.

“She has a terrific following on social media that boosts her morale and helps fund her life,” Zektser said. “She’s also heavily involved in modeling and she’s just a very sweet and strong person.”

Jordan, who did not return a request for comment, detailed her continued recuperation in the February 2023 issue of Elle, saying her anguished childhood leaves her emotional most days.

“I usually, um, cry,” Turpin replied when asked about her routine. “Then I try to get myself to eat. And then I start to do my makeup, but I cry, so I have to do it over. And then I try to do a TikTok, but I’m like, ‘Oh, people are going to say this and that about me.’”

Don't worry about what people say about you, Jordan. There are endless numbers of idiots who just want to mess up beautiful people like you. They want to bring you down to their level of misery.

“I can assure you that, behind the closed doors and when the curtains go down at night, there’s a lot more going on in that head,” Zektser told The Post of Jordan’s trauma.

Jennifer, the eldest Turpin sibling, is an aspiring nurse with her own sizable Instagram following. She did not reply to messages seeking comment.

The Turpin “House of Horrors” in Perris, California.

REUTERS

“Saw this beauty today,” Jennifer, who is now in her early 30s, posted about a rainbow in January to her 72,000-plus followers. “Just a reminder that after a storm comes a rainbow. Whatever you’re going through, push through. You’re stronger than you know. There’s something beautiful right around the corner.”

Another Turpin sister, Jeanetta, also posts regularly on Instagram, where she lists song lyrics, poems and nature among her interests.

“Yesterday is over and tomorrow is a new day so live in this moment while you have it because it is precious,” Jeanetta wrote in November.

Three of the Turpins are taking college courses and several of their younger siblings remain in foster care, Zektser said.

Zektser, who personally knows a majority of the Turpin siblings, said their rehabilitation remains a “work in progress” more than five years after their freedom — with trust of others remaining a crucial obstacle.

“I know that all of them could have terrific lives and contribute to their communities,” he said. “They all want to help people. Every single one of them, especially Jordan, talks about how they want to dedicate their lives to helping others — and I believe it. I think they can all get there, but it’s about 100 times harder because of what they’ve gone through.”

Riverside County officials declined to comment on lawsuits, which remain in discovery phase. Messages left for ChildNET Youth and Family Services in Long Beach were not returned.

“Our department wishes Jordan Turpin peace, healing and success as she pursues her dreams,” Riverside County’s Department of Public Social Services told The Post in a statement. “Our role is to promote and support the health, safety, wellbeing and independence of each child that comes into our care so they can achieve their highest potential.”

Search this blog for 'Turpin' for several more stories on this family.

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12 Sad and Sorry Stories on Today's USA PnP List

Convicted Billings sex offender accused of downloading 33,000 images of child porn

By Q2 News

BILLINGS -

A convicted Billings sex offender is accused of downloading more than 33,000 images of child pornography, mostly involving infants, onto his computer.

Roy Deming, 63, was set to appear in Yellowstone County Justice Court on Thursday on one count of sexual abuse of children.

Deming was convicted of sexual assault in 1998 and is a registered sex offender.

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force recently received a tip that a computer with an IP address in Billings had been downloading child pornography. The Billings Police Department launched an investigation and traced the computer to a home on Washington Street.

Officers went to the house and spoke with Deming, who allegedly admitted he’d been downloading child pornography for many years. Deming also allegedly admitted he has a sexual preference for girls as young as 7.

Officers searched Deming’s computer and found 32,883 images of child pornography and 316 pornographic videos involving children. Deming had labeled the folders on his computer with titles denoting child pornography. One folder was titled: “Toddlers, babies, little girls.”

The images have been sent to the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children to help identify the victims.

Deming is being held at the Yellowstone County jail.

Know Him? Police Ask Help In Red Hook

Child Sex Abuse Investigation

Kathy Reakes    Joe Lombardi 

   

DUTCHESS COUNTY, N.Y. - Dutchess County Sheriff's officials are asking the public to come forward if they have had contact with a Red Hook man who was charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting two young teens.

Tashawn D. Miles, 26, was arrested following an investigation into the assaults as part of his job as a rehabilitation specialist for an organization which provides support services for adolescents with developmental disabilities, said Capt. John Watterson.

As part of his job, Miles would visit the homes of the various people assigned to him. At this time Miles is accused of sexually assaulting two early-teenage boys while conducting these visits, Watterson said.

One of the victims has developmental disabilities, the other does not. One assault occurred in the Town of Clinton and the other in Red Hook, he added.

"No further details about the victims or the cases will be released at this time in order to protect their privacy and the integrity of the prosecution," Watterson said.

Miles was charged with felony predatory sexual assault against a child in the Town of Clinton, as well as felony criminal sexual act in the Village of Red Hook.

He is being held without bail at the Dutchess County Jail.

The investigation is continuing and if anyone has information about these cases or similar incidents involving Miles, they are urged to contact the Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at (845) 486-3820 and ask for Detective Franceschi or Detective Harris.

They may also contact the Sheriff’s Office tip line at (845) 605-2583 or at dcsotips@gmail.com . All information will be kept confidential.

Ex-Bridgewater State daycare director avoids prison in child sex abuse-reporting case

MARC VASCONCELLOS/THE ENTERPRISE

The former director of a Bridgewater State University daycare center avoided jail time Thursday after she admitted to sufficient facts for a guilty finding in a case alleging that she failed to act on concerns about an employee who later admitted to molesting children.

Judith Ritacco, 55, of Boylston made her admission in Brockton District Court, where she was scheduled to stand trial on charges of reckless endangerment of a child, failure to report child abuse as a mandated reporter, and witness intimidation, prosecutors said.

Judge Michael Vitali continued her case without a finding and sentenced her to three years of probation and fined her $1,000, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz’s office said. Ritacco is also barred from supervising any facility that serves children.

Her lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

The case against Ritacco stems from the sexual abuse that one of her former interns, Kyle P. Loughlin, (3rd story on link) inflicted on children at the now-shuttered Bridgewater State University Children’s Center between January and March of 2015.

Loughlin, 24, pleaded guilty in March to charges including rape and abuse of a child and is currently serving a seven and ½ year prison sentence.

Dare I say it again... Parents please don't put your children in daycares where men are present for any reason.

Cruz’s office said Ritacco was notified during the first week of March 2015 that Loughlin had been “zeroing in” on a child and that a teacher had a “really weird feeling” about him. She learned on March 24 that Loughlin inappropriately touched a child on the leg, and on March 27 she was informed that a parent witnessed Loughlin touching her child, Cruz’s office said in a statement.

“Ritacco did not report these incidents to the Department of Children and Families and she did not contact Bridgewater State University Police Department until March 28, 2015,” the statement said. “Ritacco told the teacher who informed her about the abuse not to speak to anyone about it on March 27, 2015.”

Cruz said Ritacco “failed” the victims, who were aged 3 and 4 at the time of the abuse. She had no prior criminal record.

“From the beginning, this has been about getting justice for these children and their families and I am hopeful that today’s resolution helps them move forward with their lives,” Cruz said in the release.

Tacoma couple in child rape in-flight texting case indicted by grand jury

by Marilyn Napier

SEATTLE -- The Tacoma man and woman charged with child sex abuse crimes after a passenger on an airplane allegedly spotted the man's explicit texts about the abuse were indicted Wednesday by a grand jury in Seattle, according to a news release.

Gail Lynn Burnworth, 50, and Michael Kellar, 56, were both charged in federal court Aug. 4 with conspiracy to produce child pornography, court documents state. Kellar is also charged with two counts of attempted enticement of a minor.

The two exchanged text messages in July that involved a plan to molest two children and film the assault, according to court documents. 

In addition to the federal charges, Burnworth has been charged in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree child rape, first-degree child molestation and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to a news release.

On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced the indictment of Burnworth and Kellar. The two will be arraigned on the indictment in United States District Court in Tacoma on Sept. 18, according to the release. Both are currently being held in custody. 

Kellar was first arrested after a passenger on a flight to San Jose, Calif,. in July spotted the explicit text messages Kellar sent to Burnworth and notified authorities when she landed, according to court documents.

Burnworth admitted to authorities that she had sexually assaulted one of the children and took videos and photos during the assaults and sent them to Kellar, documents state. Authorities said Burnworth had access to the children as a baby-sitter and that Kellar was getting to the victims through her, according to The Associated Press.

In hundreds of text messages between the two obtained by authorities, Kellar and Burnworth discuss the plan to drug, sexually assault and film the two children, ages 5 and 7, court documents state. 

Kellar and Burnworth admitted to authorities they had sexual interest in young children, documents state. The two reportedly met through an online dating site. Burnworth said in court documents the two had a sexual relationship that involved fetish behavior.

According to court documents, Burnworth admitted to authorities that she would have allowed Kellar to sexually assault one of the children and that it may take drugging the child.

The sentencing range for the federal charge of conspiracy to produce child pornography is 15 years to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 

Attempted enticement of a minor has a sentencing range of 10 years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from the San Jose Sheriff's Office and the Seattle Police Department Internet Crimes against Children Task Force.

More Video Found in Child Abuse Case Against Surgeon

The Associated Press

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors say additional video footage has been discovered in the case of a brain surgeon and two nurses in jail awaiting trial on charges of operating a child-sex ring.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported (http://bit.ly/2f7jAsI ) Thursday that a prosecutor told a judge the case is expanding. Prosecutor Steven Moore declined to release the new video or discuss the new developments outside court Wednesday.

Dr. James Kohut, Rashel Brandon and Emily Stephens are each charged with sexually assaulting multiple children. Police took seven children, ages 3 to 13, into protective custody.

Moore said Kohut, 57, sought to create "taboo families" by impregnating women who would later have sex with their offspring.

Moore said there is no evidence that Kohut, who worked as a pediatric brain surgeon at a Santa Cruz hospital, succeeded in creating those families. Moore also said there is no evidence Kohut abused patients.

Kohut is accused of recruiting the two nurses to sexually abuse children.

Court records show the case started when Brandon's husband gave police a video of his wife and Stephens abusing children. Investigators said Brandon, 43, implicated Kohut.

Kohut's attorney, Jay Rorty, says his client denies the charges.

Brandon's attorney says she suffered severe abuse in her marriage, was emotionally vulnerable and was exploited by Kohut.

Stephens' attorney, Brian Worthington, did not immediately return a telephone call Thursday. Stephens, 30, was a traveling nurse who was arrested in her Tucson, Arizona, home earlier this year.

Man sentenced to life in prison over

'House of Horrors' child sexual abuse

by Crissy Clutter

WHEELING, Ohio — Matthew Gates was sentenced to 70-140 years in prison for sexual abuse of a young Wheeling girl on Thursday morning in Ohio County Circuit Court.

Judge James Mazzone and the prosecutor said this is the worst child sex case they have ever seen in their careers.

"In my 17 years on the bench, I cannot recall a case that was more disturbing or repugnant than this,” Mazzone said.

"I have never had a case this horrific, nor has Ohio County Sheriff Lt (Doug) Ernest,” assistant prosecutor Shawn Turak said. “He's never investigated atrocities like these, and we are not the victim, but this day has been a long time coming for her.”

House of Horrors

 

Prosecutors called the house where the abuse happened -- on Station Lane in Ohio county -- "a house of horrors."

They say Gates tortured the girl with sadistic sex acts while also acting as her stepfather.

The victim says Gates took her virginity and caused her to suffer from PTSD and other mental issues.

"The monster that he is, I do not wish him in society ever again,” the victim said. “He should be in prison.”

 

Prosecutors also say Gates threatened to kill the girl's family if she told anyone about the crimes.

Gates will spend a lifetime in prison. He asked for mercy, but the judge denied that request saying he saw no reason for any leniency. Gates was convicted on seven counts of sexual abuse in July after a jury trial.

Springfield Man Guilty In Attempted

Sexual Abuse Of Child

By Emily Leayman (Patch Staff) 

SPRINGFIELD, VA — A man from Springfield pleaded guilty Wednesday in attempting to pay for sex with an 8-year-old child outside of the U.S. Carl Sara, 63, faces 10 years to life in prison after trying to entice an 8-year-old to have sex with him.

According to court documents, Sara had been involved in a live-streaming webcam chatroom that involved sexually explicit content with minors and chats with minors.

Around May 2013, the defendant tried to get a woman from the Philippines to allow him to have sex with her 8-year-old daughter. Sara wanted to engage in sexual activity when he traveled to the Philippines that year. Prosecutors say he paid he $200 and offered to pay the woman an additional $300 after engaging with the child.

The case is part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, a national effort to better identify online sexual predators and help the victims. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 8.

Concord man sentenced for possessing

child sexual abuse images

By Alyssa Dandrea

CONCORD NH

A Concord man was sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse images.

Stephen R. Mann, 64, recently pleaded guilty to two felony counts of the charge in Merrimack County Superior Court. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dismissed eight other charges against Mann, all alleging similar crimes. (4th story on link)

Concord police said Mann had downloaded from the Internet – and also uploaded – images of children being sexually abused.

Judge John Kissinger Jr. sentenced Mann to two to five years in prison on one count of possessing child sexual abuse images. On the second count, Mann received a 7½- to 15 year sentence, all suspended for 20 years.

Mann was arrested on a warrant in fall 2016 after a yearlong investigation by local, state and federal authorities.

Tazewell child-sex charges filed against two Peoria County men

By Michael Smothers 

GateHouse Media Illinois

 

PEKIN — Two Peoria County men have been charged with unrelated child sex crimes in Tazewell County last year.

Dale Lucht, 32, of Bartonville was indicted by a grand jury last week on four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a girl under age 13, a Class X felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Lucht also is charged with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of his alleged victim. Charges initially filed in the case last March were replaced by the new indictment. He’s been in custody on $500,000 bond since last April.

Lucht is accused of committing the crimes in Pekin over a 15-month period ending in October 2016. Further details of the charges were not publicly available. Lucht is next due in court on the case Sept. 28.

Freres & Lucht

In the second case, Chad Freres, 40, of Princeville was charged last week with one count of forcing sexual contact on a girl under age 17.

Freres sent her sexually related photos by email, and abused the girl when the two went hiking in the Mackinaw area in June 2016, according to a court affidavit. After the girl told her parents what happened, her father contacted Freres’ wife, who said the allegations were true and that Freres was “very sorry it happened,” the affidavit stated.

The girl’s parents waited until January to report the incident to police.

Freres is free on $25,000 bond pending his next court appearance Oct. 5 on a charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Legendary Glencoe teacher facing sex abuse allegations

An ABC7 I-Team Investigation

By Chuck Goudie and Barb Markoff

 

GLENCOE, Ill. (WLS) -- An acclaimed former school teacher from Glencoe has been accused by a former student of sexually molesting him more than 45 years ago.

"After the lights were out and I was lying in bed, the door crept open and Marvin Martin walked into the room and he started molesting me," recalled Dave Stroud, now 55 years old. "He came over the top of the bunk bed, I was in the top, and he did what he did, standing beside the bed."

Dave Stroud as Glencoe grade school student and today in I-Team interview. (ABC7 photos)

Teacher Marvin Martin, 81, and now retired, denies he molested Stroud. Martin maintains he wasn't a pedophile and says he just "loved children."

"I have no memories of him at all," Martin said of Stroud during an interview with the ABC7 I-Team. "I don't know what happened, what he thought happened. I know what he thought happened, but I don't know what happened. But I do know myself and I know I wouldn't have done the things he said I did."

Marvin Martin, early in Glencoe teaching career and today in I-Team interview. (ABC7 photos)

Stroud, who now lives in Colorado, said Martin molested him in his bedroom while his parents were on a business trip. Stroud's mother told the I-Team she had trusted Martin to stay with her three boys that week.

In a press release last month, Glencoe school district officials referred to an investigation in 2012 and 2014- both a result of Stroud's accusation. The board says it recently received two calls with related allegations of a sexual nature and several emails with additional information. According to the district, the allegations indicate the incidents did not occur on school grounds.

The school board released Martin's personnel file and said so far it has found "no evidence...with regard to the allegations." (ABC7 photo)

Stroud is pressing the school board and Glencoe police to do more, inspired he says by the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case in 2011.

In an April post on Facebook, Stroud confronted Martin, calling him a pedophile. Martin, who retired from teaching in 1996 after 38 years, responded. "You call me a pedophile," Martin wrote. "The word means 'child lover.' It is true that I loved children which is why I served them for over 50 years of my life."

During his long teaching career in Glencoe, Martin took students on more than 30 trips, produced a number of plays and wrote dozens of books.

Martin in Glencoe classroom. (Martin website)

He now lives in Kenosha where he told the I-Team that Stroud's accusations are ruining his life.

"I can't comprehend his hatred. I've never felt that kind of hatred and I can't understand anyone who would be so full of hate as he seems to be," Martin said.

Glencoe public safety officials told the I-Team they could not comment or release any records relating to the allegations.

Dave Stroud says he wants Martin to pay a price for what he did to him as a 9 or 10-year-old.

"I'm doing this because he needs to be exposed for what he's done," Stroud said.

Broken Arrow man sent to prison for child sexual abuse against 11-year-old girl

By Samantha Vicent Tulsa World 

A Broken Arrow man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison after being found guilty by a jury in June of child sexual abuse against a girl younger than 12.

Prosecutors accused Christopher Lee Douglas, 47, of sexually abusing the girl between July 2011 and the summer of 2013, when she was around 10 to 11 years old. A jury found him guilty June 22 and recommended a 25-year sentence, which is the statutory minimum for such a charge, and decided Douglas should pay a $2,500 fine.

District Judge Kelly Greenough upheld the jury's recommendations.

Authorities said the girl reported the assault to her mother, who notified the Broken Arrow Police Department on Aug. 16, 2013.

The girl alleged Douglas also abused her in Kentucky and in other places in Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services substantiated the girl's claims, authorities said.

Douglas maintained his innocence throughout his trial and is expected to appeal his sentence.

Man wanted in sexual assault of child arrested in Waukegan; bail set at $1 million

Frank S. Abderholden

News-Sun

Acting on a tip, investigators with Waukegan's Criminal Investigations Division took a 40-year-old man into custody at an area motel for alleged predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in 2003.

Cmdr. Joe Florip said Cesar Cruz was taken into custody on Wednesday at an area hotel without incident and was being held at Lake County jail in lieu of $1 million bail. Florip said the suspect is a known transient between Mexico and the United States, and Cruz had a U.S. passport for crossing the border.

The investigation began in July 2017 when the victim, who is now an adult, came forward and reported the alleged sexual abuse that occurred when she was around 13 years of age. Florip said the alleged crime occurred over a two-year period between 2003 and 2004 in Waukegan. The investigation led to a warrant, he said.

Cruz was charged in the warrant with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, and two counts of criminal sexual abuse, he said.

Cruz's criminal background involves mainly traffic citations and some small claims judgments, according to the Lake County Circuit Court public records. Cruz is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 2.