A Victorville couple and a relative who authorities say inflicted “severe and prolonged abuse and neglect” on six foster children — some for as long as 10 years — were arrested on suspicion of torture on Monday, May 12.
The victims were ages 5 through 16, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday.
Kenneth Michael Key and Tina Marie Key, both 60, and 23-year-old Katlynn Marresa Key, also from Victorville, were being held in lieu of $1 million bail each at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Related Articles
California kids were taken from their parents for their own safety. Then county social workers abused them, they say.
Santa Clara sex offender gets nearly 13 years for child enticement
Men hit with federal charges after East Bay child exploitation stings
East Bay grandpa charged with felonies over 3-year-old boy accidentally killing himself
Baby Phoenix fentanyl death: DA alleges father got fake urine before calling 911 for infant’s overdose
Kenneth Key was arrested at 5:25 a.m. on Sierra Way in San Bernardino. Not far away, Tina and Katlynn were arrested at 8 a.m. on the Mill Street on-ramp to the northbound 215 Freeway, the county jail log shows.
The investigation began on Feb. 13 when the Sheriff’s Department received a tip from a child abuse hotline, said Mara Rodriguez, a sheriff’s spokeswoman. The children were immediately removed from the Helena Drive home, she said.
“There were no allegations of abuse prior to this investigation that began in February,” Rodriguez said. “During the investigation, it was discovered that there may have been abuse occurring going back for the duration of the time some of the kids were placed in the home — 10 years.”
Rodriguez declined to elaborate on the allegations as the investigation continues.
It was unclear on Tuesday how the alleged abuse continued for years without being detected. Messages were left for San Bernardino County Children and Family Services, which oversees the foster family programs.
“Social workers visit the foster home on a regular basis to support the children’s needs,” the CFS website says.
The case may have echoes of the ordeal of four children of David and Louise Turpin who endured physical and psychological torture in the Perris foster home of Marcelino, Rosa and Lennys Olguin. Social workers visited that home and interviewed the children, but a Riverside County sheriff’s investigator said the children were too afraid of retaliation from the Olguins to tell the grim truth about their situation.
Investigators ask anyone with information on the Keys to call Detective Katie Merrill at 909-890-4904. Information may also be left anonymously on the WeTip hotline at 800-782-7463 or on the WeTip website at wetip.com.
