California county and foster care agency reach $13.5M settlement with six abused siblings

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A Southern California county and a foster care agency have agreed to a $13.5 million settlement with six children who were placed in an abusive home after being rescued from squalid and abusive conditions in their parents' home.

Riverside County will pay $2.25 million to six of the Turpin children, most of whom are now adults, and ChildNet, a care agency, will pay $11.25 million, according to a copy of the settlement.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of the six Turpin siblings alleged that the Olguin family, which took them in after they were rescued from their parents’ home in 2018, hit them with sandals, pulled their hair, forced them to eat their own vomit and made them recount their trauma.

Marcelino Olguin pleaded guilty to lewd acts on a child, false imprisonment and injuring a child and was sentenced in 2024 to seven years in prison, while his wife and adult daughter were sentenced to probation for child cruelty.

“They literally told us, 'Nobody wants you. You're never going to find a better place than this,'” Jolinda Turpin, 20, said in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer that aired this week. She spoke along with two of her siblings. “Something good needs to come from this. It has to, and I can't accept it not.”

Attorneys for the six siblings said in a statement Wednesday that the settlement brings to a close cases that helped spur critical improvements in Riverside County's child welfare system.

“These concrete and long-overdue steps toward improving child safety were accomplished as a direct result of the Turpins bravely coming forward and insisting that their suffering lead to meaningful change to protect other children,” attorneys Roger Booth and Elan Zektser said in the statement. “Their courage, resilience, and unwavering commitment to protecting other foster children is extraordinary.”

The six plaintiffs were rescued along with seven other siblings from the Perris, California, home of their parents. David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty to torture and years of abuse that included shackling some of their 13 children, starving them and providing only a minimal education. They were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

In the settlement agreement, Riverside County and ChildNet denied the wrongdoing. In a statement, Riverside County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen said the county is committed to the “wellbeing and long-term healing” of all 13 siblings and has made changes since the case came to light, including increased coordination between child welfare and law enforcement agencies and growing the number of trained social workers.

“The trauma endured by this family is heartbreaking. The abuse these children suffered in both their biological and adoptive homes was tragic and unacceptable,” Van Wagenen said. “No one wants this to happen again.”

Eric Rose, a spokesperson for ChildNet, said in a statement that the agency did not receive complaints or allegations of abuse while the children were in the agency's foster care program, and that these were raised after the children were no longer in ChildNet's care.

“Our mission has always been, and remains, to help vulnerable children heal, grow, and succeed. That mission guided every decision in this case and continues to guide our work today,” Rose said.

A report found that the social service system failed the Turpin children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 when they were rescued by authorities after their 17-year-old sister escaped and called 911.