3 family members appear in court after being charged with torture of 6 children in Victorville
VICTORVILLE, Calif. (KABC) -- A couple and their adult daughter accused of abusing and starving six children in Victorville appeared in court Thursday.
Kenneth Michael Key, 60, Tina Marie Sheffield Key, 60, and their daughter Kaitlynn Marresa Key, 23, were arrested Monday and later charged with six felony counts of torture and one count of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors also filed a special allegation of personal infliction of great bodily injury in the case.
"The abuse included daily beatings, strangulation to the point of unconsciousness, and punishments of withholding food and water from the children for a period of days," the DA's office said in a statement.
The judge ordered no bail for the three suspects, meaning they will all remain behind bars for now.
The crimes allegedly occurred over a period of 10 years inside a Victorville home. The children are currently between 6 and 16 years old.
Law enforcement was notified of the alleged abuse when the 16-year-old managed to get out of the house and talked to people at a local store, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said.
"The older children documented the years of abuse through written documentation and also through photographs that were captured on iPads," Anderson said.
The DA's office initially described the children as being under foster care but later clarified the suspects were the children's legal guardians.
"I think a lot of people when they hear stories like this and cases like this, they're thinking of the Turpin case in Riverside, which was a horror story," Anderson said. "This one is also, but I don't want to get into specific facts in terms of the abuse, but when you're dealing with the repetitive nature of it, the age of these kids, again, the most I'll say is it clearly is physical, emotional and nutritional abuse."
