Turpin kids to win pay-out after being abused for 3 years by foster family who ‘saved’ them from parents’ sick torture
SIX of the Turpin siblings – who were abused by a foster family who took them in after they were rescued from their parent’s house of horrors – are close to winning a huge settlement sum.
The children, 13 in total, were pulled out of a life of captivity in 2018 after a decade of abuse by their biological family at their home in Perris, California.
Riverside County and a private foster care agency, ChildNet Youth and Family Services, Inc., were tasked with finding the Turpin kids a home.
Tragically, six of them ended up being abused again by new foster parents who were supposed to care for them.
Marcelino Olguin, his wife Rosa, and their daughter, Lennys, pleaded guilty to several counts of child abuse after their arrest in 2021.
Rosa and Lennys had their sentences suspended and were given four years of probation.
Marcelino also pleaded guilty to charges of sexual abuse and was sentenced to seven years in state prison.
In July 2022, the siblings filed two lawsuits against Riverside County and ChildNet.
In the initial lawsuits, the Olguins were accused of telling the children to kill themselves because they were “unlovable.”
They also forced the siblings to gorge themselves on food until they were sick and then made them eat their vomit as punishment, according to the complaints.
The U.S. Sun has obtained new court documents that confirm all parties for both suits have finally reached a settlement deal, although it is yet to be approved.
One lawsuit lists two of the siblings, who are not named, as plaintiffs, while the second was brought by the other four.
BRAVE ESCAPE
Court filings show there is still one “minor’s compromise” to be done before the next hearing, ensuring the settlement is in the child’s best interest and the funds are protected.
This is expected to be finalized before the next hearing, according to docs.
The papers also state that if the Board of Supervisors rejects the settlement, the case will go back on the calendar before a court date on August 8, 2025.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Riverside County, ChildNet, and the Turpin siblings’ attorneys for further comment.
Attorney Elan Zektser, who is representing some of the siblings in one suit, previously told The U.S. Sun, “Some of the kids will tell you that what they experienced in the foster home was even worse than what they experienced at the hands of their parents.
“The thing that kills me most is that when they were in the Turpin home, they were told they didn’t deserve to be like everyone else, that they were bad kids, bad people – that’s what their parents put on them.
“And then the foster family used that against them and compounded those feelings, telling them, ‘No one wants you, look at what your parents did, they were right: you are nothing.’
“So when you have enough people in your life telling you that you are nobody and nothing and don’t deserve what everyone else has in life, it has a profound effect on your psyche.”
Zektser added, “If you ask me how they’re doing now, from being in those situations, they’re doing fantastic with all things considered. Because if you’re living after those two situations by default you’re doing fantastic.
“Some of them are productive members of their community, but some of them are still struggling greatly.”
THE TURPIN 13: A TIMELINE OF EVENTS
1985: David and Louise Turpin marry, after meeting at their local church when David was in his early twenties and Louise was a young teen.
1988: The couple welcome their first child.
1992: They set up home in Fort Worth, Texas, where their son is born. David earns six figures working as an Engineer.
1998: Louise and her seven children disappear out of view, and she cuts ties with her worried family.
June 2001 & February 2003: Texas authorities interact with the family only on these two occasions – first time after a child is bitten by a dog, and the second time after their pig escaped and ate 55lb of the neighbour’s dog food.
October 2011: David and Louise Turpin renew their wedding vows at a Las Vegas chapel. They are accompanied by all of their children.
2014: The family move to Muir Woods Road, Paris, California – which will later be dubbed the ‘house of horrors’.
January 14, 2018: Jordan Turpin, then 17, escapes the home and calls 911 for help, which is when police enter the property. David and Louise Turpin are arrested on suspicion of child abuse and torture and later charged with 12 counts of torture, seven counts of abuse of a dependent, six counts of child abuse, and 12 counts of false imprisonment.
February 2019: David and Louise Turpin plead guilty to one count of torture, four counts of false imprisonment, six counts of cruelty to a dependent adult and three counts of wilful child cruelty.
April 2019: The couple are sentenced to life in prison, with the chance of parole after 25 years.
2021: Jennifer and Jordan Turpin speak out about their horrific experiences in an interview with Diane Sawyer.
2022: The Turpin siblings claim they were abused in a foster home after their rescue, and file two separate lawsuits.
Zektser also claimed ChildNet knew the Olguins were unfit to be foster parents because of an alleged prior history of abusing and neglecting children placed in their care – but those facts were allegedly ignored.
In a cross-complaint filed by Riverside County, the authority denied any wrongdoing and shifted the blame solely on the foster parents.
“This abuse and neglect inflicted on Plaintiffs by the Olguins, if true, and the Olgiuns’ failure to cooperate and disclose information to the County’s social workers, if true, caused Plaintiffs to sustain injuries and damages,” docs read.
The Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) no longer places children in homes through the agency formerly known as ChildNet, according to reports.
A Riverside County spokesperson also previously said in a statement, “The trauma this family endured is heartbreaking. We remain committed to their well-being and their lifelong journey of healing.
“We appreciate our County and community partners, who collaborate with us to support this family, and every family, with services and resources.”
ChildNet also replied to the complaint in 2022, claiming in court docs: “Defendant alleges this answering defendant had no advance knowledge of the unfitness, if any, of Marcelino and Rosa Olguin.”
They also claimed, “The actions of Marcelino and Rosa Olguin against Plaintiffs were committed, if at all, while Plaintiffs were no longer in a ChildNet Foster Care Program.”
BRAVE ESCAPE
The sibling’s biological parents, David and Louise Turpin, were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after they pleaded guilty to holding captive and torturing their children for years.
One of their daughters, Jordan, was 17 years old when she fled her family home via a window in January 2018.
She dialed 911 to report that her parents had been violently abusing and starving her and her 12 siblings for years.
Frightened Jordan told the operator, “My two little sisters right now are chained up.”
Officers arrived at the dirty home to find two kids shackled to a bed, according to official reports.
It later emerged the children were regularly beaten until they bled, and forbidden from interacting with anyone outside of the home.
They were also severely malnourished and were only allowed one shower a year, authorities revealed.
At the time, the siblings ranged in age from 2 to 29, with seven of them over the age of 18.
However, they were all so thin that police initially thought they were all juveniles.