Left inset: James Kahl (WPKD/YouTube). Right inset: Carly Kahl (WTAE/YouTube). Background: The Pennsylvania home where James Kahl and Carly Kahl are alleged to have kept their children in “dungeon”-like conditions (WTAE/YouTube).
A couple from Pennsylvania is facing accusations of confining their five children in a “feces-covered” room described as a “dungeon,” equipped with video cameras connected directly to the father’s room, with no door handle allowing the children to exit, according to police statements.
James Kahl, 65, and Carly Kahl, 41, are facing charges of child endangerment, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and other offenses linked to the “appalling living conditions” discovered by authorities last month in their Redstone Township residence, as stated in a report from the Pennsylvania State Police.
According to the PSP report, “Troopers observed … no beds, windows boarded up, feces smeared on the bedroom walls, fleas, minimal clothing, and food.” It was also found that the father, J. Kahl, locked the children’s bedroom door from the outside, confining them inside their rooms for part of the day and all night.
State troopers visited the residence on a Wednesday following an August 8 report concerning the alleged conditions. The children in the house ranged from 5 to 14 years old, police reported. All were allegedly confined to the same room within the house.
The PSP report describes the room as functioning “as a dungeon with video cameras hardwired to the father’s room.” It notes that the door had three deadbolt locks on the outside, with no handle to facilitate the children’s escape.
A local judge signed a removal order after authorities discovered the alleged conditions, and officials immediately removed the couple’s children and placed them with the state’s Children and Youth Services, according to police. Forensic interviews were conducted with them, but the results have not been reported. The youths currently remain in state custody.
“It is sickening,” state trooper Ally Wilson told local CBS affiliate KDKA. “That is the only word to describe it. It’s sickening.”
On Wednesday, troopers executed a search warrant at the Kahl residence and allegedly found a stun gun and surveillance camera inside, along with a “replica pistol, drugs, and drug paraphernalia,” according to PSP officials. The tipster was described as a family member close to the Kahls, though it’s unclear who.
“We are very, very happy that a family member was willing to come forward and report this to us,” Fayette County District Attorney Michael Aubele told KDKA. “We are very happy with our Children and Youth Services, who removed these children, and our Belle Vernon state police, that continued this investigation long after the children were removed to make the arrest that they did today.”
Aubele added, “I can’t imagine living in a household like what we saw.”
