Authorities believe two men turned a stun gun on the children as a form of discipline, according to the news release. Their girlfriends knew of the abuse but didn’t stop it, investigators allege.

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In total, the four adults, who all lived in the same Lakeland, Fla., home, had access to nine children, according to a sheriff’s office spokeswoman. Seven of those children had been abused, authorities say. And the four adults have been arrested, the sheriff’s office said.

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Eduardo Vazquez and William Torres-Morales, both 22, face several charges in connection to the allegations, including numerous counts of contributing to delinquency of a minor and aggravated child abuse.

Their girlfriends — 33-year-old Elizabeth Tarvin and 32-year-old Veronica Sanchez — have also been taken into custody and face a number of charges.

Torres-Morales told investigators that on July 16, he and Vazquez forced the male children to complete push-ups. Each time one of the boys couldn’t do a push-up, Torres-Morales and Vazquez would turn the stun gun on him, according to his account.

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Vazquez eventually admitted to using the stun gun on kids, according to the release. He told the sheriff’s office that “the children needed to be disciplined and that he used the [device] when they acted out,” the release stated.

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He also told investigators about the push-up punishment, saying that he and Torres-Morales shocked the children when they couldn’t complete the exercise.

Elizabeth Tarvin and Veronica Sanchez, the girlfriends of Torres-Morales and Vazquez, both told investigators that they knew of the abuse, according to the release.

“Elizabeth Tarvin stated she did not try to stop it or advise anyone because she was scared of losing Eduardo Vasquez,” the release stated. “Veronica Sanchez stated she let William Torres use the Taser on the children to discipline them. Veronica Sanchez stated she did not want Eduardo Vasquez to use it, but she never told him to stop and never tried to stop him. Veronica Sanchez advised she never reported the incident because she was afraid the children would get taken away.”

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