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For years, six children in the Victorville home of Kenneth and Tina Key suffered from physical and emotional abuse, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said.

Finally, one day in February, the eldest left the home and went to a grocery store, where she eventually contacted law enforcement, Anderson said on Wednesday, May 14. The 16-year-old’s bravery triggered an investigation that Anderson said revealed that the Keys and their adult daughter had subjected the children they were supposed to protect to strangulation, daily beatings and starvation.

Some of the children had been taped down and some had gone days without food or water, Anderson disclosed. And some of the children, ages 4 to 16, recorded the abuse in journals and with photographs, Anderson said.

“Fortunately, one of the children had the courage to report it, saving the younger children from continued years of abuse,” Anderson said.

Kenneth and Tina Key, both 60, and daughter Katlynn Key, 23, were arrested Monday and were charged Wednesday with six counts of torture — one for each alleged victim — and one count of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death. They pleaded not guilty to all charges via video Thursday in Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga.

They are being represented separately by the Public Defender’s Office and court-appointed attorneys.

The three are each being held without the possibility of bail and are due back in court on May 20.

The oldest of the children had lived at the Helena Drive home for 10 years and the youngest for three to eight years. Authorities had previously identified them as foster children, but on Wednesday, the DA’s Office said they were in the Key home under a guardianship arrangement.

County spokesman David Wert on Thursday declined to talk specifically about Children and Family Services’ involvement with the Keys for privacy reasons.

Wert did explain in an email that foster care is a temporary arrangement during which social workers make monthly visits to the homes, and parents are required to grant access to the children. A guardianship, meanwhile, is a more permanent arrangement where a court grants legal responsibility for a child to a non-parental caregiver, often when returning a child to its parents is not a good option.

There are other important differences.

Social workers visit homes where the guardian is not related to the child every six months, but they are generally not required to ever visit homes where the children and guardians are related, Wert said.

And, Wert wrote, “The guardian has the right to be present whenever a social worker interviews the children, unlike a foster child who has the right to be interviewed alone.”

That could be an important distinction in the Keys case. Social workers were unable to uncover any of the years-long abuse or were unable to substantiate any allegations the children might have made.

“There is some indication that when there were visits by social workers, the kids were told to go on script,” Anderson said.

Experts on investigations into child abuse say confirming such crimes can be difficult because of a reluctance of children (fearing retaliation) and their abusers (fearing prosecution) to tell the truth.

The Victorville children have received health exams and will receive additional screenings for physical and cognitive problems, Anderson said. He noted that doctors have found some scarring.

The effects of the abuse, Anderson said, were not as severe as those suffered by 12 of the 13 children of David and Louise Turpin in their Perris home. Some of those children appeared years younger than their actual ages and their cognitive growth was delayed because of malnutrition. Their education had amounted to little more than a first-grade level because of the sham homeschool operated by their father. The Turpin parents were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after being convicted.

The subsequent foster parents of six of the Turpins were also convicted of abuse.

The Key foster children, meanwhile, attended school outside of the home, Anderson said.

Anderson declined to discuss a possible motive.

Clarification: At the time of the arrests, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office said that the victims were foster children. The agencies later sent a correction that they were at the Keys’ home under a guardianship.

A Victorville family accused of “repetitively” torturing six children pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearance Thursday with a judge ordering them to be held without bail.

Tina Marie Sheffield Key, 60, Kenneth Michael Key, 60, and daughter Kaitlynn Marresa Key, 23, were individually brought in to attend the hearing as they were read the 12 charges against them, including torture and child abuse.

Prosecutors allege the six children, whose current ages range from 6 to 16, were subjected to abuse that included daily beatings and strangulation to the point of unconsciousness. Punishments included withholding food and water from the children for days, the district attorney's office said.

As prosecutors alleged the torture took place for “a couple of years,” the oldest of the victims was able to escape the house and flag for help.

“The 16-year-old was able to get out of the house, went to a local store and indicated there were some obvious concerns,” San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said. “When law enforcement rolled back to the house, and they did their search there, they were able to find evidence that corroborated the claims of the 16-year-old.”

Anderson said the harrowing experience that the victims went through is a “horror story,” similar to the Turpin case, in which 13 children were tortured, imprisoned and starved by their biological parents.

“When you’re dealing with the repetitive nature of it, the most I’ll say is that it clearly is physical, emotional and nutritional abuse.”

Some of the older victims kept records of the abuse, according to the district attorney, by having written documents and taking pictures on their iPads and cameras.

Investigators are also conducting foreign interviews to trace back the children’s previous injuries, such as bone and skeletal scans, Anderson explained.

Although the district attorney said the six victims rescued last week lived with the Key family for about two years, the three suspects were accused of committing torture and child abuse between February 2015 through February 2025.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to NBC Los Angeles’s inquiry for clarification.

It was not immediately clear whether there were additional victims.

VICTORVILLE, Calif. (VVNG.com) — On Monday, May 5, 2025, members of Teamsters Local Union No. 896 launched a 24/7 unfair labor practice strike outside the Keurig Dr Pepper facility at 18180 Gateway Drive in Victorville.

The strike centers on unpaid arbitration awards and what union leaders describe as a pattern of unfair labor practices.

Phil Cooper, principal officer of Local 896 and a Victorville resident for more than 40 years, said the dispute began in December 2023, when the company removed sick time from employees — a move that was later challenged and ruled improper by an arbitrator in November 2024.

“To this date, they haven’t paid that arbitration,” Cooper said. “There are several unfair labor practices that they’ve committed since then. That’s why this is a ULP strike.”

According to Cooper, Keurig Dr Pepper owes the workers “a couple hundred thousand dollars” from the arbitration ruling. He added that wages are also a central issue in the strike, saying the company is offering a low wage contract.

The picket line formed early Monday morning, with workers carrying signs reading “No Pension? No Contract!” and “Not Afraid to Withhold Our Labor.”

The strike is planned to run continuously, and union leaders say they are considering extending picket lines to other Southern California KDP facilities, including locations in Vernon, Orange County, Riverside, San Fernando, and Ventura.

Cooper expressed frustration over what he described as unequal treatment of High Desert workers.

“I’m a Victorville resident for over 40 years, and a company like this size comes into town and thinks that these workers up here deserve less money because of living in the High Desert,” he said. “I take it personally, okay? Because they do the same work as the members down the hill. And these industry standards are not being met here.”

“Hopefully this will end successfully for these workers,” Cooper added. “They deserve a better contract than the company’s offer.”

As of Monday afternoon, Keurig Dr Pepper had not issued a public response to the strike.

Victorville residents who recycle correctly have the opportunity to win a gift card by entering the city's “The Right Stuff” Curbside Recycling Contest.

Residents interested in winning the $100 gift card can visit vv.city/therightstuff to sign up for the contest, which continues through September 30.

To be eligible to win, residents must sign up for the contest and recycle correctly by using the correct sorting method that includes various carts.

Green Organics Cart

Use green organics carts only for organic material, which includes bagged food waste and food scraps such as eggshells, bakery items, coffee grounds, meat, poultry, fish, bones and fruit and vegetable peels.

The green cart is also used to dispose of loose yard trimmings such as branches, grass, flowers, leaves and more.

Food waste should always be bagged, and yard trimmings should always be loose. Remember, the green organics cart must not include any recyclables or trash.

Blue Recyclable Cart

Use the blue cart only for recyclables such as glass bottles and jars, tin and aluminum cans, and rigid plastic containers (bottles/jars/tubs/trays). Additionally, clean and dry paper and cardboard.

All bottles and cans must be totally empty of food residue. Recyclables should be placed loose into the recycle bin, not bagged. The recycle cart must not contain any “trash” or “contaminants” such as plastic bags, soiled paper, food, or garden trimmings.

It is important to recycle cereal boxes, plastic shampoo bottles, junk mail, school papers, yogurt containers, laundry detergent boxes, bottles, etc., city officials stated.

Black Trash Cart

Use the trash cart only for trash items, not recyclables or organics.

Inspecting carts

Each week, new contestants will be chosen, and their organics, recycling, and trash carts will be checked. If the customer has correctly sorted all three carts of waste, then they will be announced as a winner.

“The Right Stuff” Contest is sponsored by Burrtec Waste Industries in cooperation with the city of Victorville.

For more information, or to request a paper entry form, residents should call the Victorville Environmental Programs Division at 760-955-8615.

Pollo Campero, a popular and top-ranked Guatemalan-style quick-service restaurant specializing in fried chicken and Latin dishes, is coming to Victorville.

The new Pollo Campero, which recently broke ground, will sit along Mariposa Road between Planet Fitness and Cosmos Taverna in the shopping center anchored by Vallarta Supermarkets.

The Victorville Pollo Campero was issued a permit on April 16, city spokeswoman Sue Jones told the Daily Press.

Pollo Campero: Serving up flavor

Pollo Campero serves fried and citrus grilled chicken, chicken sandwiches, like tortillas, yuca fries, spicy beans, rice, sweet plantains, flan and empanadas at nearly 400 locations globally, with about 140 restaurants in the U.S.

“Our signature drinks and sides are prepared fresh daily,” company officials said. “Our garden-fresh salads are made in house, every single day.”

Some of the countries that host Pollo Campero include El Salvador, Honduras, Spain, Belize, Brazil, Italy and the U.S.

"We continue to grow and bring our signature flavors closer to thousands of loyal customers who love the brand and do so in a way that meets them where they are," Luis Javier Rodas, Campero USA’s managing director, told Chain Store Age earlier this year.

The restaurant chain aims to reach 250 locations by 2027.

Last year, Pollo Campero was voted No. 2 in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Fast Food Fried Chicken.

Last year, RestaurantNews reported that Pollo Campero ranked No. 93 in the 2024 Franchise Times Top 400 list.

The birth of Pollo Campero in 1971 began in Guatemala by a family that desired to create a unique food experience that’s full of life and seasoned with a little zest, the company stated.

The company has hosted local events and raised money for organizations, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz