Three family members from Victorville, California, have been accused of torture related to the suspected mistreatment of six children under their care, officials announced Wednesday.
Kenneth Michael Key, 60, Tina Marie Sheffield Key, 60, and their daughter Kaitlynn Marresa Key, 23, were apprehended on Monday. They now face six felony charges of torture and one charge of child abuse involving circumstances that could cause severe injury or death, the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office reported. Additionally, prosecutors have added a special allegation regarding the personal infliction of great bodily harm.
“Following a thorough investigation by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Crimes Against Children Unit, alongside Loma Linda University Medical Center Children’s Assessment Center, it is asserted that Kenneth and Tina Key, as well as their adult daughter, subjected all six children (aged four to sixteen) to prolonged physical, emotional, and mental mistreatment,” the D.A.’s office stated in a release.
The investigation that led to the arrests was launched after authorities received a tip from a caller to a child abuse hotline.
“The abuse included daily beatings, strangulation to the point of unconsciousness, and punishments of withholding food and water from the children for a period of days,” the news release said.
The sheriff’s department had previously said the youngest victim was 5 years old.
Jose Martinez, a neighbor who lives next to the defendants, told ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC that he was was in stunned disbelief when he learned of the allegations and arrests.
“I never heard any bad noises,” Martinez said. “I would take out their trash, and see the cans were full of snacks. So, I can’t believe they didn’t have any food or being denied clothing or stuff like that because they were pretty normal.
“Nothing was suspicious at all,” he said. “The kids would come out. I would give them popsicles, and they would never mention anything to me.”
A man and two women have been arrested on suspicion of torture in a case involving the “severe and prolonged abuse and neglect” of six children in Victorville.
According to Martinez, after authorities removed the children from the home in early February, Tina Key told him that she and the other two members of her family were being investigated for alleged child abuse.
“Tina was very in shock; she was emotional that they took the kids away,” he said. “They denied everything. I mean, I never seen any problems. I’ve always seen the kids out here playing. It’s a lonely neighborhood; so they kept to themselves, to be honest.”
Asked about the children’s appearance, Martinez said they looked “normal.”
The defendants were each being held on $1,000,000 bail, authorities said. Their arraignment date is scheduled for Thursday via video.
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