On Wednesday, three members of a Southern California family were charged with torturing six foster children, aged between four and 16, over a span of a year, according to prosecutors.
The individuals involved are Kenneth Michael Key, 60, Tina Marie Key, and their 23-year-old daughter Katlin Maresa Key. They were apprehended in Victorville, based on information from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
It’s currently unclear whether they have legal representation, as efforts to confirm this with the county’s civil servant office were made without a response.
The inquiry commenced on February 13, triggered by reports to a child abuse hotline, as noted by sheriff’s spokesman Mara Rodriguez. Authorities acted swiftly, removing the children from the home.
Prosecutors allege that the Key family subjected all six children to prolonged physical, emotional, and mental mistreatment.
According to statements from the District Attorney’s Office, the abuse included daily stripping the children, episodes of strangulation to the point of unconsciousness, and punitive measures involving the withholding of food and water.
Each of the three defendants faces charges of torture and child abuse, with bail set at $1 million each.
Officials have not provided details on how such alarming abuse could persist undetected for so long. Messages have been left for child and family services in San Bernardino County, who oversee the foster care program.
This case bears similarities to the 2019 situation involving David and Louise Turpin, a California couple found guilty of torturing their 13 children, binding them to beds and starving them to the extent that their growth was severely stunted.
