May 4 (UPI) — A California man accused of torturing and imprisoning all but one of his 13 children faces new perjury charges, prosecutors announced Friday.
The Riverside District Attorney’s Office charged David Turpin with eight counts of perjury for signing paperwork with the state saying his children were receiving a full-time education in a private day school.
Authorities arrested David Turpin and his wife, Louise Turpin, in January after their 17-year-old daughter told police she escaped their Perris, Calif., house. Law enforcement officials said they searched the Turpin home and found “several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings.
The Turpins each face multiple counts of child and adult abuse, torture and false imprisonment. Prosecutors also charged David Turpin with one count of a lewd act on a child by force, fear or duress, and Louise Turpin with one count of felony assault.
All 13 siblings “appeared to be malnourished and very dirty,” and some had cognitive impairment and lacked basic knowledge, police said. Officers initially thought all of the siblings were minors because of their small size.
The children spent some time in hospitals for medical care and rehabilitation before being released to new homes in March. The adult siblings were taken to a rural home, while the minor children were sent to two foster homes.
The 13 siblings include seven adults and six juveniles ranging in age from 2 to 29 years old. Police have not charged the Turpins with abusing the youngest child.
The Turpins are next scheduled to appear in court June 20.
