Behind closed doors, 10 children were living in a California home strewn with feces and rotten food. They were also physically abused for a “sadistic purpose,” said Solano County Chief Deputy District Attorney Sharon Henry.
That conclusion was drawn after police received a report that the oldest child had gone missing. Officers arrived at the house on March 31 and found nine children — ranging in age from 4 months to 11 years — living in squalor.
According to Fairfield Police Lt. Greg Hurlbut, there was “garbage and spoiled food on the floor, animal and human feces and a large amount of debris making areas of the house unpassable.”
The missing 12-year-old was found sleeping under a bush nearby, but officers decided to contact the Solano County Child Welfare Office, which removed the children from the house. They were placed in the custody of relatives.
Then Child Welfare Services, the Fairfield Police Department’s Family Violence Unit and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office launched an investigation. They uncovered “a long and continuous history of severe physical and emotional abuse,” the police said in a written statement.