The story of the Turpin children—13 siblings discovered living in a “House of Horrors” in Riverside County in 2018—shocked the nation. Unfortunately, for six of those children, the abuse didn’t end after their rescue.
In 2019, David and Louise Turpin were sentenced to life in prison for what was described as one of the worst cases of child abuse in Southern California’s history.
Twelve of their 13 children had been tortured and held captive. But after six of the siblings were placed in Riverside County’s foster care system, they suffered further abuse at the hands of their foster family, according to a lawsuit filed two years ago in Riverside County.
“In many cases, as I’ve said before, and I quote, ‘what happened in that home was worse than what happened in their biological parents’ home,’” said attorney Elan Zektser.
Last week, one of the foster parents, 65-year-old Marcelino Olguin, was sentenced to seven years in prison for lewd acts on a minor and other charges. His wife and adult daughter were sentenced on lesser charges.
The lawsuit, filed by some of the Turpin children, accuses Riverside County and ChildNet Youth and Family Services of allowing the children to be placed in the abusive foster home.
“They want change. They want more oversight when kids are struggling. They want to be noticed when kids are reporting abuse,” Zektser added. “They want someone to listen.”
The lawsuit is still ongoing in the Riverside County court system, but on Monday, the County released a statement in which it called the trauma endured by the Turpin children as “heartbreaking.”
“We remain committed to their wellbeing and their lifelong journey of healing,” the statement reads in part. “We appreciate our County and community partners, who collaborate with us to support this family, and every family, with services and resources.”
Officials added that the Department of Public Social Services no longer places children in homes through ChildNet; that foster agency did not provide a comment before the publication of this story.
