Arizona Couple Arrested After Adopted Children Denied Access to Food, Water

A couple in Tucson, Arizona have been arrested after authorities say their four adopted children were discovered to be living in horrific conditions with no access to food or water for hours at a time. 

Benito Gutierrez, 60 and Carol Gutierrez, 64, were arrested for three counts of child abuse according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department. Their adopted children ranged in ages from 6 and 12-years-old. 

Authorities say they began investigating after one of the kids escaped through a bedroom window and manged to make his way to a nearby Family Dollar store where a worker called 911. 

According to a news released from the department, a clerk who was worried about the child's age and appearance called 911. 

"The children were kept in separate bedrooms, which were locked from the outside," authorities said in a statement. "(They had) no access to food, water, lights or bathroom facilities for up to 12 hours at a time on a regular basis."

According to the release, the four adopted children were being kept in squalor, with each child confined to their own bedroom, locked from the outside. 

The case is similar to another one last month in California in which two parents were arrested after one of their children escaped from their home and call 911 to report similar allegations. David and Louise Turpin were arrested for child abuse after police found their 13 children ranging in ages from 2 to 29, malnourished and dirty, with some even shackled to their beds. 

Photo: Pima County Sheriff's Office


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