Two mothers are accused of standing by and doing nothing as their 12 children were physically and sexually abused by their father in what’s being described by authorities as a secret “cult.”
The sickening allegations involving Washington dad Melford Warren Jr., 43, led to one deputy calling it “one of the worst cases of abuse we’ve ever seen,” Q13 News reported.
“These children were held against their will, denied nutrition, denied medical care, and physically and sexually abused,” Scott Wilson, of the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, told the station after asserting his claim.
Detectives say Warren’s children, ranging in age from infanthood to 13, were taught to hide the abuse and never speak with police.
It took approximately eight months before two of the girls opened up to investigators on May 7, revealing what can easily be seen as a day-to-day nightmare.
“The children disclosed that they have never seen a dentist, only been to the doctor once, and never been to school,” said Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office Detective Nicole Menge, according to Seattle Pi.
One girl additionally spoke of having her arm broken by Warren for being unable to read; another said he threatened to shoot her, choked her and beat her with a bat.
Another accused her father of raping her the same day deputies rescued seven of them from an Ellensburg-area campground last September.
That’s when deputies said calls about unattended children at the site revealed an extremely suspicious atmosphere and lifestyle among the family.
A deputy reported hearing the kids discussing how to hide from police. They said they also heard them refer to one of the two mothers, 28-year-old Amanjot Jaswal, as “the breeder.”
The second mother found at the scene was 41-year-old Shannon Smith.
Both women, who reportedly refused to identify themselves as Warren’s wives or girlfriends, are now accused of attempting to cover up the abuse which allegedly went on for years.
All of the children have since been taken into protective custody while their parents are facing numerous charges.
That reportedly now includes suspicions that Warren broke his 14-month-old daughter’s arm by throwing her against a couch last August.
At the time Menge said they didn’t have enough evidence to charge Warren. The girl’s mother had declared it an accident and refused X-rays “because she feared the radiation might prevent her daughter from being able to have children someday,” Seattle Pi reported, citing charging papers.
Warren, who was arrested in Florida Thursday, has been charged with first-degree child molestation, second-degree assault of a child and two counts of first-degree rape of a child.
On Friday Jaswal and Smith pleaded not guilty to criminal mistreatment charges.
Jaswal was freed while Smith was ordered held on $50,000 bail.
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