MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Court records show Minneapolis police were repeatedly called to the home of mentally disabled twin girls in the years before charges of sexual assault, beatings and neglect were filed against their parents.
One of the 21-year-old twins escaped in May and reported the abuse, Minnesota Public Radio reported. The twins only have the mental capacity of children no older than 6, court records said.
Police found the girls’ father and their 11-year-old sister naked in a room with pornography and sexual toys, court records said. The other twin was found with cuts, burns and scars. The basement was also filled with dog urine and feces, according to reports.
The twins were allegedly threatened, restrained with chains and beaten with bats, brooms and paddles, according to court records. The girls’ father allegedly sold sex with his daughters for drugs. One of the twins was pregnant with her father’s child at the time of the investigation, according to reports. She has since given birth.
“I am so afraid of my parents. I never want to be with them again,” one of the twins said. “It feels so good to not be chained to the bed, raped and beaten every day.”
Records show that police had been called to the home more than 50 times since 2011 to check on the welfare of residents, reports of lost children and domestic abuse allegations. It’s unclear if responding officers reported the family to county workers who investigate child abuse reports.
Hennepin County authorities dealt with at least three cases of abuse and neglect tied to the family since 2013, according to court records.
Despite multiple police visits to the house, the mother was given limited guardianship over the twins twice after they turned 18.
The girls’ father is jailed on charges of rape, assault and stalking, while their mother is being held in lieu of $300,000 bail for criminal neglect. The Associated Press is not naming the parents to avoid identifying their daughters.
Minneapolis police declined to comment on the pending case. Jennifer DeCubellis, deputy Hennepin County administrator for Health and Human Services, also said the agency couldn’t comment on the case.
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