Charges including torture and child abuse have been brought against the parents of 13 children in California.
The siblings - who range in age from 2 to 29 - did not know what medication or a police officer was, and were often beaten and tied up as punishments.
One of the children managed to escape from the house in Perris on Sunday and call the police.
David and Louise Turpin will appear in court later this evening to face the charges.
Michael Hestrin is the Riverside County District Attorney:
"The children were, when they were not changed up, locked in different rooms and fed very little on a schedule.
"The children lacked... a basic knowledge of life - many of the children didn't even know what a police officer was.
"A 17-year-old, when asked if there was medication or pills in the home, didn't know what medication or pills were".
