Page 5 - ARUBA TODAY

A5
U.S. NEWS Thursday 18 January 2018

13 siblings held captive were likely coerced to remain quiet

By BRIAN MELLEY an entire family like that for
MICHAEL BALSAMO so long must have been
Associated Press pretty sophisticated.”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When David Allen Turpin and his
a 17-year-old girl jumped wife, Louise Anna Turpin,
out a window from the were arrested Sunday after
house where her parents authorities found the mal-
allegedly starved and tor- nourished children in their
tured their 13 children, she home in suburban Perris, 60
broke a silence that had miles southeast of Los An-
likely lasted for years. geles. They were jailed on
It’s not clear why the teen- $9 million bail each and are
ager waited so long to act, expected to appear Thurs-
but psychiatrists say such day in Riverside County
behavior is not uncommon Superior Court on charges
even in cases of extreme that could include torture
deprivation. and child endangerment,
Most people would rec- authorities said.
ognize milder forms of the Some siblings were shack-
same inaction that is a led to furniture in the foul-
coping mechanism, wheth- smelling four-bedroom
er it’s failing to speak out home that looked perfectly
against off-color jokes, en- normal from the outside.
during sexual harassment The couples’ children —
or staying in an awful mar- ages 2 to 29 — were so
riage, said Dr. Bruce Perry. emaciated the older ones
“This happens all the time. still looked like children.
The number of individuals Authorities thought the Rudemberth Salgado is looking for his cousin Elizabeth Salgado, and thought that she may be
who would immediately 17-year-old daughter who one of the people held by parents that were arrested in his neighborhood Sunday after several
respond to an opportunity called 911 was only 10 children were found chained in the house on the 100 block of Muir Woods Rd. in Perris, Calif.,
where they could get away when they found her. Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018.
is very small compared to Until the girl fled with pho- (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
the number of people who tographic evidence, it sheriff’s office reported re- cords obtained by The As- type of religion where the
would have that paralysis appears no one, neither ceiving a call from a neigh- sociated Press. father becomes this mythi-
and insecurity and confu- neighbors nor public offi- bor complaining a pig that It’s not clear what motivat- cal leader and the mother
sion about what to do,” cials, knew anything about belonged to the Turpins es- ed the Turpins to live a se- and children’s duty is to
said Perry, a psychiatrist what was happening in- caped for a pen and ate cluded life with their large serve the father,” attorney
who is a senior fellow at the side. The Turpins have lived 55 pounds of his dog food. brood or what went on Ambrosio Rodriguez said.
Child Trauma Academy in in two Riverside County In another complaint, Da- in the house, but parents Rodriguez was a longtime
Houston. Only after many communities since moving vid Turpin reported that convicted in similar cases Riverside County prosecu-
missed opportunities did to California in 2011, and the family’s dog had bitten exerted control over their tor who sent Jessica Banks,
the teen probably work up police said they were never their 4-year-old daughter children though a mix of a pastor and mother, to
the courage to act, Perry called to either home, nor on the face. He told police psychological and physical prison for life for beating,
said. “It’s pretty remarkable were any reports fielded by he took the girl to a hospi- coercion and frequently starving and drugging her
that she’d do that,” he child protective services. tal for stitches and the dog possessed their own belief five adopted daughters,
said. “The power that must In Hill County, Texas, where to a veterinarian to be put system. “They develop a who were kept locked in
have been exerted to keep they lived previously, the down, according to re- kind of cultish doomsday her garage.q

Suit: Gay couple gets ‘hateful’ flyers, not wedding programs

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER program order with the is “incredibly saddened” view that they’ve deter- them. David Gottlieb, an
Associated Press “hateful, discriminatory” by the incident and has mined the couple’s order attorney for the couple,
BOSTON (AP) — Stephen pamphlets. launched an investiga- was filled by a third-party said they did not complain
Heasley and Andrew Borg “Our goal is to hold Vistap- tion. Vistaprint says it has partner and that no Vistap- to Vistaprint at the time of
were excited to see the rint accountable for the reached out to the couple, rint employee ever had their wedding because
wedding programs they or- harm they have caused, who lives in Australia, and physical contact with the they had to scramble to
dered for their big day. But to give a voice to oth- hopes to use the incident order, but they are con- print their own programs
when the package arrived, ers who may have been as an “opportunity to shine tinuing to look into exactly in time for the ceremony.
the gay couple was horri- similarly victimized, to help light on important LGBTQ what happened. Gottlieb said they hope
fied to instead find religious prevent this from happen- issues.” “We share in this The lawsuit says the pam- that their lawsuit will bring
pamphlets with messages ing to someone else and to couple’s outrage. Vistap- phlets received by the cou- public attention to the issue
about temptation and sin, send a message that there rint in no way condones ple on the eve of their wed- to ensure others don’t re-
according to a federal law- will be consequences for — and does not tolerate — ding included phrases such ceive the same treatment.
suit against printing com- acts of hate perpetrated discrimination against any as “fight against Satan’s The lawsuit, which seeks
pany Vistaprint. against others,” the couple, of our customers based on temptation and pursue unspecified damages, ac-
The lawsuit, which was who got married in Pennsyl- their race, religion, gen- what is good” and “do not cuses Vistaprint of discrimi-
filed Tuesday in Massachu- vania in September, said in der or sexual orientation,” set on the path of the wick- nating against the couple
setts, accuses Vistaprint a statement. CEO Trynka Shineman and ed or walk in the way of evil- because they’re gay and
of attacking the couple Vistaprint’s CEO and found- Founder Robert Keane said doers.” The couple says the breaching a contract for
because they’re gay by er said in a letter to custom- in the letter. pamphlets were designed not delivering the programs
replacing their wedding ers on Wednesday that it Shineman said in an inter- to intimidate and threaten they ordered.q