Jonathan Allen and Ina Rogers allegedly carried out ‘sadistic’ mistreatment in Fairfield home filled with rotten food, human and animal waste

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A California couple face multiple charges of torture and child abuse after 10 children were discovered in “horrific” conditions in a suburban home.



Jonathan Allen, 29, the children’s father, denies seven counts of torture and nine charges of abusing the children, who are aged between four months and 12 years old, at their home in Fairfield, north of San Francisco. The mother, Ina Rogers, 31, will be charged with nine counts of child abuse on Wednesday, prosecutors said.

She has also denied any wrongdoing and told reporters that the allegations would “fall away”.

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In strong echoes of the ongoing prosecution of David and Louise Turpin, the sheriff’s office in Solano county said the children were rescued from the filthy house in March. They had suffered puncture wounds, burns, bruising and injuries consistent with being shot with a pellet gun. Sharon Henry, the county’s chief deputy district attorney, said they were tortured “for sadistic purposes”.

They were discovered when police responding to a missing juvenile report visited the address and found a home filled with rotted food and human and animal waste.

Stories about the alleged abuse have emerged gradually in interviews with the children who are now in care. Eight of the children told professionals about incidents dating back several years, authorities said.

It was not clear whether any California government agencies had an opportunity to intervene to prevent the abuse.

However, Wanda Rogers, the children’s maternal grandmother, told local TV that she suspected the children were being abused, calling Allen a “monster”.

“He would take the baby and slap it in the face and put duct tape on the baby’s mouth to make it shut up,” she told KNTV in San Francisco.

The child’s mother, Ina Rogers, told reporters that social services interviewed the children three years ago when her mother “had mentioned something” that prompted a home visit. However, nothing came of the investigation. “My kids were placed back with me,” she told reporters.

Solano child welfare officials did not immediately respond on Tuesday to a request for details about the visit, or information about other contact they may have had with the family.

In another similarity to the Turpin case, Rogers said she home-schooled the children, but the Fairfield home was not registered as a private school and neither were three prior addresses in Fairfield and Vallejo, according to the state education department.

California law requires children to be enrolled in public school unless they meet specific exemptions, such as documented attendance at a private school. Parents who teach their own children can register as a private school but the state does not approve, monitor or inspect them.

Ina Rogers said she worked as a technician at a heart-monitoring company and her husband was a tattoo artist.

Allen denied the allegations in an interview with KCRA-TV on Tuesday, saying: “I am not an animal ... The truth is that it is a functioning household,” he said. “Everyone helped everyone. It was a complete circle, the older ones helped the little ones.”

Larry Magnaye, a neighbour across the street, said he had no idea there were 10 children living in the house.

The parents waved when leaving the driveway, he said, but never saw the children in the yard or heard them playing in the backyard pool.

“It’s a pretty big house,” Magnaye said. “But I don’t know how you can keep it quiet when you have 10 kids. I can’t keep it quiet with one, two, you know?”





