Quaint suburban home that's hid horrifying secret for years... as three people are arrested for vile crimes
A man and two women have been arrested for the allegedly torturing foster children at their home in a quiet southern California suburb.
Six children, between the ages of 5 and 16, suffered a campaign of 'severe and prolonged abuse and neglect' at their home in San Bernardino County, police said.
Married couple Kenneth Key and Tina Key, both 60, and their daughter Katlynn Key, 23, were arrested on suspicion of torture on Monday after a three-months-long investigation, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said.
Officials launched an investigation into the alleged abuse on February 13 after a tip was called into the child abuse hotline. The children were removed from the home in the 13000 block of Helena Drive at that time.
Details about the alleged crimes have not yet been released, but authorities allege their investigation revealed the suspects 'neglected and abused' six children.
Neighbors, however, claim the rarely saw the children, telling KTLA that the 'kids never came outside' and were 'only allowed to go to the backyard'.
The three suspects have been booked at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino and are each being held in lieu of a $1,000,000 bail.
The investigation into the alleged abuse and torture at the Helena Drive residence remains ongoing.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact San Bernardino County Sheriff's Detective Katie Merrill at 909-890-4904.
Those who wish to remain anonymous can contact the WeTip Hotline at 800-78CRIME or report tips online.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez has also urged community members to report any suspicion of abuse.
'Any kind of child abuse or neglect going in a home, whether it's a biological home, a family home, foster home, reach out and report that,' she told KTLA.
'We would much rather do an investigation and find that everything is just fine in that home than find out several years later that there was some abuse.'
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