A California family faces multiple counts of child abuse. Kenneth Key, his wife Tina Key, and their adult daughter Kaitlynn Key, are accused of abusing their six children in their care over many years. The six foster children range in age from 4 to 16. Details about the years of abuse are still emerging.
Investigators still don’t know how the Key family came to care for the children. While police initially called the kids foster children, that may not be entirely true. And it seems that the kids may not have much of a connection to each other. This only makes the situation more complicated.
Sixty-year-olds Kenneth Key and Tina Key, along with 23-year-old Kaitlynn Key, were arrested and charged this week in Victorville, California, ABC7 reported. They were each charged with six felony counts of torture. Additionally, they received one count of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death. Prosecutors from the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office also filed a special allegation of personal infliction of great bodily injury.
The investigation began on February 13, 2025. Authorities received a tip from a child abuse hotline. Sheriff’s spokesperson Mara Rodriguez said that the children were immediately removed from the home. According to prosecutors, the children were subjected to “years of physical, emotional, and mental abuse.”
“The abuse included daily beatings, strangulation to the point of unconsciousness, and punishments of withholding food and water from the children for a period of days,” a statement reads.
Details about the children, their medical conditions, or any injuries have not been revealed.
The Key family was in court on Thursday, May 15. During the hearing, the district attorney requested to remand the family without bail. The request was granted by a judge, CBS News reported. In the hearing, more details about the abuse were revealed.
Back in February, one of the older kids asked for help while at a store. “The older children documented years of abuse through written documentation and photographs that were captured on iPads and cameras,” District Attorney Jason Anderson said.
Now, the district attorney’s office will request medical evaluations for the children, including bone scans. Anderson believes they are “going to tell a big story to the depth and degree of the abuse.”
No one is clear about how the children ended up in the care of the Keys. According to the Department of Children and Family Services, the Keys had guardianship of them. Because of this, they don’t have a lot of interaction with county services. At first, authorities claimed the Keys were foster parents. None of the six children are biologically related and all come from different families.
The Keys will appear in court again in May.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
