Investigators probing allegations in Turpin case lack access to records
ABC News
Months after investigators began probing alleged failures in the care of 13 Turpin children, they say they still can't access needed records due to confidentiality rules.
Three months after California authorities announced an investigation into alleged failures in the care of 13 Turpin children rescued from a house of torture four years ago, the team tasked with investigating the situation has yet to access some court and county records at the heart of the case, due to confidentiality rules.
During a probate court hearing in Riverside County Thursday, lawyers for the adult Turpin children, the county, and an outside firm hired to investigate grappled with balancing the need for information with the Turpins' privacy.
Though the court session ended without resolution, the hearing made it clear that, months into their probe announced in November, the investigators have not been able to review many of the records they have sought.
Judge Kenneth Fernandez said he does not need to abide by anyone's timeline but his own in ruling on the request to turn over the records -- even though the county announced in November that investigators' findings would be turned over by the end of March, just one month away.
