A couple from Pennsylvania has been taken into custody after state police discovered their five children were living in “terrible conditions,” confined to their room for extended periods and monitored by video cameras inside the “dungeon.”
“It is sickening. That is the only word to describe it. It’s sickening,” Trooper Ally Wilson said, according to KDKA.
Troopers found the kids with no beds, boarded up windows, feces on their bedroom walls, flea investations, and limited clothing and food.
According to court documents, troopers were alerted to the situation on August 8 by Fayette County Children and Youth Services. A police report states that 65-year-old James Russell Kahl would lock the children—aged between 5 and 14 years—inside their rooms each day and throughout the night. This room, referred to as a “dungeon,” was equipped with video cameras linked to Kahl’s room. The children’s room was secured with three deadbolt locks on the outside and lacked a door handle.
A criminal complaint said that Kahl told investigators he would “not be removing the locks from the bedroom door for any reason.” WPXI said.
“We are extremely pleased that a family member stepped up to bring this to our attention. Kudos to our Children and Youth Services, who removed the children, and to our Belle Vernon state police for continuing the investigation to make these arrests,” stated Fayette County District Attorney Michael Aubele, as reported by KDKA.
The children are now in the custody of Children and Youth Services.
Kahl and his 41-year-old wife, Carly Kahl, were detained on Wednesday. A search warrant led to the discovery of a stun gun, a replica firearm, surveillance equipment, drugs, and drug-related items.
According to WPXI, Russell forced his wife to use the stun gun on at least one of the kids as a punishment.
“There’s no reason to be using a device like a stun gun, which is less lethal, not non-lethal, against a child,” Aubele said.
The parents are charged with endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and other charges.
