A Pennsylvania couple has been arrested after state police found their five children living in “deplorable condiions,” locked into their room for hours and hours at a time and monitored inside their “dungeon” by video cameras.
“It is sickening. That is the only word to describe it. It’s sickening,” Trooper Ally Wilson said, according to KDKA.
Troopers found the kids with no beds, boarded up windows, feces on their bedroom walls, flea investations, and limited clothing and food.
Court documents say troopers were called to the scene on August 8 by Fayette County Children and Youth Services. A police report sys that 65-year-old James Russell Kahl locked the kids, who ranged in age from 5 to 14, in the rooms for parts of every day and all night. They called the room a “dungeon” with video cameras hardwired to Kahl’s room. The children’s room had three deadbolt locks on the outside and no door handle.
A criminal complaint said that Kahl told investigators he would “not be removing the locks from the bedroom door for any reason.” WPXI said.
“We are very, very happy that a family member was willing to come forward and report this to us. We are very happy with our Children and Youth Services, who removed these children, and our Belle Vernon state police, that continued this investigation long after the children were removed to make the arrest that they did today,” Fayette County District Attorney Michael Aubele said, according to KDKA.
The children are now in the custody of Children and Youth Services.
Kahl and his 41-year-old wife, Carly Kahl, were arrested on Wednesday. A search warrant uncovered a stun gun, a replica pistol, surveillance camera, drugs, and drug paraphernalia.
According to WPXI, Russell forced his wife to use the stun gun on at least one of the kids as a punishment.
“There’s no reason to be using a device like a stun gun, which is less lethal, not non-lethal, against a child,” Aubele said.
The parents are charged with endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and other charges.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: James Russell Kahl and Carly Kahl/Fayette County Sheriff’s Office]
