Father accused of 'sadistically torturing' ten children found living amid human faeces and rotten food

Police say they suffered puncture wounds, burns, bruising and possible pellet gun injuries

Jonathan Allen and his wife, Ina Rogers, have been charged over the treatment of their children (AP)

Ten children found living with their parents amid human faeces and rotten food were “sadistically tortured” at a home in northern California, authorities said.

Ina Rogers denied she or her husband abused their offspring, but police in the city of Fairfield said they had suffered puncture wounds, burns, bruising and injuries consistent with being shot with a pellet gun.

Aged four months to 12 years, the children were rescued on 31 March after Ms Rogers contacted authorities in the city around 46 miles northeast of San Francisco, to report her oldest child was missing.

When officers went to the home, they found it in a filthy condition, lieutenant Greg Hurlbut said.

"Officers located unsafe and unsanitary living conditions including garbage and spoiled food on the floor, animal and human faeces and a large amount of debris making areas of the house unpassable," he said.

Authorities described injuries to the children, including some that appeared to have been caused by someone shooting a pellet gun.

The father, 29-year-old Jonathan Allen, was arrested last week after the children were interviewed. He has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of torture and nine counts of felony child abuse. He was held on $5.2 million (£3.84m) bail.

The children did not require medical attention when they were removed, but stories about abuse came out gradually after his arrest.

Eight of the children told professionals about incidents dating back several years, authorities said.

Sharon Henry, chief deputy district attorney for Solano County, said she was "horrified" by the statements from the children and that torture was carried out in the house "for sadistic purposes." She declined to elaborate.

"It literally breaks your heart, and you're outraged by how a parent or anyone could commit those acts," Ms Henry said.

Ms Rogers was arrested on suspicion of neglect last month and released after posting $10,000 (£7,380) bail. She denies her husband abused the children.

"There's no broken bones, there is no major scars, nothing," Ms Rogers told reporters in front of her house. "My kids get bumped and bruised and scratched because they're kids but that's it."

Ms Rogers gave journalists a tour of the house, a four-bedroom home with scuffed walls and animal faeces in the bathroom.

She said the children slept in one bedroom because they were close; cots were stored in a bedroom closet. The other rooms were used as a master bedroom, playroom and meditation room.

On the day the children were removed, the house was messy because she had just torn it apart looking for her missing son, who was angry because his parents had taken away his tablet computer, Ms Rogers said.

She added that the family were being judged for having so many children and choosing to home-school them.

Child protection officials made one prior visit to the home several years ago, Ms Rogers added. She did not say why.

Ms Rogers said she works the graveyard shift as an EKG technician at a heart monitoring company and her husband is a tattoo artist.

Aleida Quartman, 23, who described herself as Ms Rogers' co-worker, said the mother spoiled her children, and insisted the messy house was just life with children, cats, a dog and fish.

"She told me she's never lived alone and now that her kids are gone and her husband is gone, she's just a mess," she said.

Mr Allen's mother, Peggy Allen, said she had talked to Ms Rogers about the importance of keeping a clean house.

She is estranged from her son and he has kept his family away from the children, she said.

"We're a Christian family and Jonathan has not been raised that way," she said.

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

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

"It's a pretty big house," Mr 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?"

Additional reporting by AP