Three members of a Southern California family pleaded not guilty Friday to abusing their nine foster children, including two girls from the Turpin family who were rescued from nightmarish conditions three years ago. Marcelino Olguin, 63, of Perris, entered pleas in Riverside County Superior Court to felony charges that included committing lewd acts on a child under age 14, false imprisonment, and willful child cruelty, the AP reports. Olguin allegedly fondled and kissed the two sisters while other children were physically assaulted, according to an investigator's affidavit.
His wife, Rosa Olguin, 58, and 37-year-old daughter, Lennys Olguin, entered pleas to false imprisonment, willful child cruelty, and dissuading a witness. The three are free on bail and have another hearing in June. Court papers indicate that the Olguins were fostering two girls who were among 13 siblings rescued in 2018 from a home in Perris, about 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles, though the girls are not identified in the filings. They took in five Turpin children only months after the rescue, papers showed. Their parents, David and Louise Turpin, are serving sentences of 25 years to life in state prison.
Last year, ABC News reported that most of the siblings received poor care after entering the child welfare system. "They have been victimized again by the system" and were "living in squalor," Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in the ABC documentary. "They're living in crime-ridden neighborhoods. There's money for their education. They can't access it." The county ordered an independent investigation into the allegations that was expected to conclude this year.
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