[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
After surviving a second “House of Horrors,” the Turpin children are taking legal action against the foster care system that put them there.
As we reported, the 13 siblings were rescued from their abusive biological parents, David and Louise Turpin, in 2018 after one daughter fled the house and managed to call 911. But tragically, their nightmare had only begun: we learned earlier this year that six siblings were then placed in a foster home allegedly run by a pedophile who molest and abused them further.
Now, two separate lawsuits have been filed by six of the Turpin siblings against the entities they say are responsible for making them endure a “House of Horrors” sequel: Riverside County and foster care agency ChildNet Youth.
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The complaints, which were filed on Tuesday, July 19 in Riverside County Superior Court, identify the siblings only as Jane and John Does, and claim they were abused in a foster home by foster parents “Mr. and Mrs. O.” (The foster parents have previously been identified as Marcelino and Rosa Olguin.) The complaints also mention the adult daughter of the Olguins participated in the abuse.
The siblings claim in the suit that ChildNet was aware the Olguin family was “unfit to be foster parents” — because they had a “prior history of physically and emotionally abusing children as well as severely neglected children who had been placed in their care.” Whoa!
The suit against ChildNet alleges:
“As to ChildNet, it had a financial motive to continue placing a large number of children in this foster home and thereby strengthen its relationship with the County of Riverside, and it put that financial motive ahead of its responsibility to children.”
Disgusting if true.
Even though the agencies were supposedly aware of the family’s prior history of alleged abuse, the complaints say the agencies failed to act — even after they knew about the allegations of abuse by the Turpins. The docs continue:
“[The] defendants were put on notice that Mr. and Mrs. O and their adult daughter were sexually, physically and emotionally abusing and severely neglecting them. At least one of the plaintiffs had conversations with defendants’ social workers in which she conveyed that information and asked for help.”
Despite their cries for help, the Turpins were stuck in the allegedly abusive home for three years.
The complaints match the criminal proceedings we’ve been following, saying the foster father sexually abused two female siblings. Moreover, the three members of the foster family would physically abuse all the children by hair pulling, hitting them with a belt, and “striking their heads.”
The siblings also allegedly endured “severe emotional abuse,” with the foster parents allegedly telling the children they were “worthless,” suggesting they harm themselves, and forcing the siblings to eat excessive amounts of food until they vomited. The suit filed on behalf of Jane Doe 5 and John Doe 6 said:
“After they began to vomit, they forced them to eat their own vomit.”
Unbelievable. Simply too disturbing to imagine.
Elan Zektser, one of the attorneys representing the siblings, said in a statement:
“The Turpin 13 endured some of the most sickening child abuse the County of Riverside has ever seen. After these vulnerable children were freed, they were placed by the County through CHILDNET into a known abusive foster home. It is beyond shocking that the County and CHILDNET let these kids get horrifically abused once again. Our communities should be appalled.”
The Turpins’ biological parents have already been convicted on 14 felony counts including cruelty to an adult dependent, child cruelty, torture, and false imprisonment. They were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
The Olguins were arrested following a March 2021 investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department “for lewd acts with a child, inflicting injury on a child, willful child cruelty and false imprisonment, and plaintiffs were removed from their home.”
While four of the 13 children are still in foster care, their attorneys say at least now they are together and safe.
[Image via ABC/YouTube]
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