这两天，在美国洛杉矶法院开庭的一个案件，吸引了媒体的关注。
被起诉的是一对夫妻：现年57岁的男性David Turpin和他50岁的妻子Louise。
Via foxcarolina.com; David Turpin（左）和他的妻子Louise
这对夫妻因对自己12个小孩长期进行虐待，双双被判25年监禁。
他们的亲生骨肉与他们对簿公堂，控诉父母对他们造成的伤害。
而这对夫妻听到已成年的两位孩子控诉他俩的虐待行径，在法庭上声泪俱下。
Via dailymail.co.uk
For years, David and Louise Turpin abused 12 of their 13 children, starving them, hitting them, depriving them of sleep and shackling them to furniture — torture that moved one of their daughters to tell a courtroom, “My parents took my whole life from me.”
大卫和露易丝共有13名子女，但他们对其中12名进行了持续多年的虐待。他们的虐待行径包括让他们挨饿，不让他们正常睡觉，把他们拷在家具上。他们对子女造成的伤害太过严重，以致于一个女儿亲自在法庭上控诉他俩。“我的父母把我的生活夺走了，”这个女儿说。
In a Friday hearing, the California couple were sentenced to life in prison. They’ll have a chance at parole after 25 years.
在本周五（当地时间）的听证会上，这对加利福尼亚的夫妇被判终身监禁。服刑25年后，他们才能获得假释机会。
Their daughter, speaking publicly for the first time, continued through tears: “Now, I’m taking my life back.”
这位女儿第一次在公开场合讲述父母的虐待。她边哭边说：“现在，我要把我的人生从父母手中夺回来。”
Via washingtonpost.com
Via dailymail.co.uk；这个大家庭曾经的合影
这对夫妻于2018年年初被洛杉矶警方逮捕。
若不是他们的一个小孩成功从家里的窗户逃出报警，洛杉矶警方或许无法知道当地的一对普通夫妇，会犯下如此严重的罪行。
Via Reuters；他们的家从外部看很整洁正常，但邻居们很少看到这家的孩子们出门
经过调查，警方慢慢了解到这对夫妇是如何具体虐待子女的。
他们许多孩子经常被扣上铁链，锁在某个家具旁边，不能自由行动。
When the Turpin children were found in their Perris home in January 2018, they ranged from ages 2 to 29. But some of the adults were so malnourished, they looked like young teenagers.
2018年1月份，这户人家的孩子们在佩里斯的家中被警方发现。这些孩子当时年龄在2岁到29岁之间。一些成年的孩子们看着一副营养不良的样子，哪怕成年了还瘦弱得像个青少年。
None of them had seen a doctor in more than four years, and none of them had ever visited a dentist.
没有任何一个小孩在过去四年多的时间里看过医生；也没有任何一个孩子曾经去看过牙医。
The children were often tied up for “weeks or even months at a time,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said last year.
该区域的一名检察官Mike Hestrin 去年说，这些孩子们经常被父母绑起来，一绑就是“几个星期甚至几个月”。
The victims told investigators that being tied with ropes was initially a form of punishment. But when one victim escaped, the parents started using chains and padlocks to shackle some of the children to beds.
这些被虐待的孩子们告诉调查人员，他们父母一开始把他们用绳子绑起来作为一种惩罚的形式。但当其中一个小孩解开绳子逃脱后，这对夫妇就开始用铁链和挂锁把一些孩子拷在床上。
Via cnn.com
Via YouTube
多亏了其中一位勇敢的女孩爬出窗户报警，其他兄弟姐妹们才得以逃脱继续被父母虐待的命运。
In the chilling 911 call placed by the 17-year-old daughter, she informed the dispatcher that she and her siblings were being abused and that their home was so filthy she sometimes struggled to breath.
一名17岁的女孩拨打了911报警电话。她告诉当天轮值的调度员，她的兄弟姐妹们正遭受虐待；他们家里污秽不堪，她连呼吸都困难。
The call lasted for 20 minutes because the girl struggled to work out her address because she had not been outside alone before.
这个报警电话持续了20多分钟，因为这女孩费了好大劲才描述清楚她家地址。此前她从未单独离开家过。
‘Okay, I live in a family of 15 people and my parents are abusive. They abuse us and my two little sisters right now are chained up. There’re 13 kids and then a mother and a father,’ she said in the 911 audio.
“我家里共有15口人；我的父母有虐待我们的行为。我们遭受父母的虐待。我的两个妹妹现在正被父母铐起来。我家里一共有13个孩子，还有一个母亲，一个父亲，”她报警时这么说。
Via dailymail.co.uk
一位检察官说，这些孩子因遭受父母多年的虐待和幽禁，几乎没有什么生活常识，一开始都不知道正常的生活是什么样的。
Via Facebook
家庭的虐待和伤害深刻地影响了这个大家庭的孩子们。
但一些成年的孩子，靠自己的意志力，一步步重新过上正常的生活。
Jennifer Turpin:
他们的女儿詹妮弗的口供：
My parents took my whole life from me, but now I’m taking my life back.
我的父母把原本属于我的生活夺走了，现在我要把我生活夺回来。
I’m in college now and living independently. I love eating out with my friends and life is great.
我现在上大学了，一个人独立生活了。我喜欢跟朋友们一起出去吃饭；我现在的生活很棒。
I believe everything happens for a reason. Life may have been bad but it made me strong. I fought to become the person I am. I saw my dad change my mom. They almost changed me, but I realized what was happening. I did everything I could to not become like them.
我相信任何事情的发生都有原因。我过去的生活也许很糟糕，但这段经历让我更加强大。我今天的模样，是我靠自己努力奋斗而来的。我看着我的父亲一点点改变我的母亲。他们也几乎改变了我。但我对发生的变化有察觉。为了不变成我父母的那样的人，我尽了所有的努力。
Via dailymail.co.uk
他们的一位成年儿子，在父母被捕后，也拥有了新的生活。
Joshua Turpin:
他们的儿子约书亚的口供：
I cannot describe in words what we went through growing up. Sometimes I still have nightmares of things that have happened, such as my siblings being chained up or beaten. But that is the past and this is now.
我无法用语言描述我和兄弟姐妹们在成长过程中都经历了什么。有时候，我还是会做噩梦，梦到以前被父母虐待的情形。比如我的兄弟姐妹们被铐起来或是被殴打的情形。但这些已经过去，我们有新的生活了。
I love my parents and have forgiven them for a lot of the things they did to us.
我爱我的父母。我也原谅了他们对我们做的很多事情。
Since January I have learned so much and become very independent. In June of last year, I learned how to ride a bike and ever since then I’ve been hooked and I ride everywhere, such as to school, the store.
从今年1月份起，我学会了很多东西，也独立了很多。去年6月，我开始学习如何骑自行车，并对骑车感到着迷。我骑着车去了很多地方，比如去学校，去商店。
I live in an apartment and go to a nearby college. I’m getting a bachelor’s degree in software engineering. After I get my bachelor’s degree I’m going to get a job as a software engineer and go to school part time to get my master’s degree.
我现在住在一个公寓里，在公寓附近的社区大学念书。我正在攻读计算机编程的本科学位。我获得这个学位后，我想当一名软件工程师，并在工作业余时间去读一个研究生学位。
Via dailymail.co.uk
希望这13位承受了不幸的孩子，未来能一步步活出正常且幸福的人生。
Via Facebook
文：washingtonpost.com; CNN; dailymail.co.uk
图：Facebook; CNN；路透社；dailymail.co.uk；网络
（来源：环球时报英文版）
往期回顾
