REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
David and Louise Turpin were charged in court for their crimes holding their 13 children hostage in their own California home. Criminal charges include torture, abuse of a dependent adult, child abuse or neglect, and false imprisonment. David Turpin is charged with one count of “lewd act on a child.” In a Thursday press conference, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin described how the children were restrained on their beds for weeks at a time and were subject to frequent beatings and strangulation. The 17-year-old who successfully escaped and notified police had worked on an escape plan for more than two years. The pattern of abuse reportedly started when the Turpins were living in Fort Worth, TX and got worse over time. Their bail is currently set at $9 million.