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Abused Turpin kids now 'betrayed' by social services system

ABC News reported Friday that Riverside County has hired a private law firm to look into the allegations involving the Turpin family.
Credit: AP
FILE - Neighbors write down messages for the Turpin's children on the front door of the home of David and Louise Turpin where police arrested the couple accused of holding 13 children captive in Perris, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018. Officials are investigating allegations that the county where the Southern California couple starved and shackled 12 of their 13 children failed to provide the basic services they needed to start a new life. ABC News reported Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, that Riverside County has hired a private law firm to look into allegations that the adult and minor children haven't received many basic services. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

RIVERSIDE, Calif — A Southern California county has brought in outside investigators to look into whether its social services system failed to provide adequate housing, food and other services for 13 siblings rescued from horribly abusive conditions. 

ABC News reported Friday that Riverside County has hired a private law firm to look into the allegations involving the Turpin family. The children ranged in age from 2 to 29 when they were freed from their parents’ prison-like home in 2018. Authorities say all but the youngest child suffered abuse including starvation and being shackled to beds. 

Their nightmare ended when 17-year-old Jordan Turpin escaped through a window and called 911. Their parents, David and Louise Turpin, have since been sentenced to life in prison.

Read the full AP story here.

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