The home in California where two parents allegedly tortured their 13 children had doubled as a private school for the siblings – but the premises received no government oversight and was never inspected by education officials. David Turpin had been home-schooling his children at the house in Perris, east of Los Angeles, which he called the Sandcastle Day School. In the 2016-17 school year, it had an enrollment of six, with one student each in the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12th grades.

There was no indication anyone other than his children were enrolled, authorities said. Authorities said they uncovered the abuse when a 17-year-old girl jumped out of a window, called 911 and led police to 12 of her brothers and sisters aged from two to 29 years old, all malnourished and some chained to furniture. Turpin and his wife, Louise Anna Turpin, were being held on $9m bail and could face torture and child endangerment charges.(theguardian)…[+]