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Three Turpin Siblings Break Silence in Diane Sawyer Special, Detailing Abuse by Parents and Foster Caregivers

Their accounts underscore ongoing questions about how Riverside County placed them after the rescue.

Overview

  • ABC aired a one-hour special on Feb. 3 featuring first-time interviews with Julissa, 19, Jolinda, 20, and James Turpin, 24.
  • They recount the years of deprivation and violence in their Perris, California home, first exposed when Jordan Turpin’s 2018 911 call led to the rescue of 13 siblings.
  • David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty in 2019 to torture and related felonies and received sentences of 25 years to life.
  • Six of the youngest children were later placed with Marcelino and Rosa Olguin; in 2024, Marcelino received a seven-year sentence after guilty pleas that included lewd acts, while Rosa and their daughter, Lennys, received probation.
  • The siblings’ civil suits against Riverside County and ChildNet ended in a financial settlement without admissions of wrongdoing, after a 2022 independent review found the child-welfare system had failed them and the county said it enacted reforms.