FAILED BY THE SYSTEM!

THE 13 TURPIN KIDS SURVIVED HARROWING ABUSE AT THE HANDS OF THEIR PARENTS, BUT THEIR AMAZING RESCUE ONLY LED TO MORE HORRORS.

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IT was one of the country's worst cases of abuse. In 2018, then-17-year-old Jordan Turpin escaped her home in Perris, Calif., calling 911 to report decades-long abuse she and her 12 siblings had suffered at the hands of their parents. Police were stunned to find the brood, ranging in age from 2 to 29, severely malnourished, surrounded by human feces and piles of garbage, with evidence they had been shackled to beds and put in cages. The 29-year-old, it was reported, weighed just 82 pounds.

With their parents, David and Louise Turpin, eventually sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, plus a wave of public support including $1.2 million in donations the Turpin kids' future seemed secure. But a shocking new 630-page report reveals that the social-services system meant to protect the siblings repeatedly failed them- even sending some into a foster home that was later found to be abusive. Worse, when the Turpins who lacked even basic life skills complained, concluded the report, "they often felt frustrated, unheard and stifled by the system."

House of Horrors

Hidden from the world and prevented from going to school, the siblings were unaware of basic concepts. "Many of the children didn't know what a police officer was," said the DA.

Opening Up