The beige, two-story homes that line Helena Drive are the epitome of quiet, Southern California suburbia, but residents were shocked recently when they learned of horrific allegations against some longtime Victorville neighbors.
Amid the block’s plastic pools, basketball hoops and childrens bicycles, a couple and their daughter have been accused of torturing and abusing six children — some for many years.
The San Bernardino County district attorney’s office has charged Kenneth and Tina Key, both 60 years old, and Katlynn Key, 23, with six counts of torture and one count of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said the adults tortured the children, giving them daily beatings and strangulating them to the point of passing out along with depriving them of food. The alleged abuse against some of the children went on for over a decade, according to the charging documents.
“We don’t know what goes on in someone’s home. It just hurts to hear,” said a stunned nextdoor neighbor, Jose Martinez. “They could have come to us for help if they needed it.”
On a recent morning, a lone minivan sat in the driveway outside the Key’s home. A knock on the door went unanswered.
Martinez said the children who lived with the Keys were regular fixtures outside their home in this High Desert community.
“They played outside all the time. There was never anything that gave us worry,” Martinez said. “They were just a normal family.”
The children helped Martinez put up his Christmas decorations and occasionally took his trash cans to the curb. When he was working as a pizza delivery driver, he would sometimes give the children pizza. They seemed happy and well-mannered, sometimes talking with him about their homework and classes.
The children at the home ranged in age from 5 to 16, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials announced in a news release.
Kenneth Key worked as a security guard and often talked about disciplining the children by giving them chores, but he never mentioned physically hurting them, Martinez said.
“He would ask me if my yard needed any weeds removed or anything like that,” Martinez said.
Initially, authorities identified the children as being in the care of foster parents, but the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office later clarified that they were legal guardians.
The children were removed from the home on Feb. 13 after one of the teenage victims walked to a nearby Stater Bros. Supermarket and asked for someone to contact the police, San Bernardino District Attorney Jason Anderson told the news outlet the San Bernardino Sun. Some of the children wrote of the alleged abuse in journals, Anderson said.
Neighbors said the children were not restricted from leaving the Keys’ home and often interacted with their neighbors.
After the children were removed from the home, Kenneth Key asked his neighbors to write letters of support that would speak about his character as a provider. Several neighbors did write those letters, according to residents on Helena Drive.
“He was the type of neighbor who would take the lead when there was illegal drug users in the street,” said one neighbor who declined to give their name. Kenneth Key would call the police when someone suspicious was walking through the neighborhood or he would confront them himself, the neighbor said.
Now all three adult members of the Key home are being held in in a county jail. They pleaded not guilty to the charges on Thursday and are expected back in court on Tuesday.
Prosecutors have revealed little about the alleged abuse and the circumstances surrounding the children’s time at the home. Investigators with the Sheriff’s Crimes Against Children unit launched their investigation in February and the Keys were arrested on May 12.
There were no reports of abuse prior to the start of the investigation, Sheriff’s spokesperson Gloria Orejel said.
Anyone with information about the case can contact Det. Katie Merrill of the Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 890-4904. Anonymous tips can be made with the We-Tip Hotline at (800) 78-CRIME (27463) or at www.wetip.com.
