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"This is absolutely appalling," said Ina Rogers, standing in the doorway of her Fairfield home while giving reporters her reaction to charges she and her husband abused and even tortured their 10 children.
GRAPHIC PHOTO WARNING: This report includes photos that may be disturbing to some viewers.
"I strive, I thrive on being a good parent to my children," Rogers said. "My husband has a lot of tattoos. He looks like a scary individual, and that's why people are so quick to judge him. But my husband is an amazing person. I am an amazing mother."
The 30-year-old mother is out on bail after her arrest in late March, when her 12-year-old son was reported missing. Police returned the boy to the home before she was charged with abuse.
The Fairfield Police Department arrested Rogers' 29-year-old husband Jonathan Michael Allen on Friday after a six-week investigation. He's been charged with nine felony counts of child cruelty and seven counts of torture.
"I got pregnant at the age of 16," Rogers said.
She added that she has 11 biological children, ages 4 months to 14 years old. Three she had before meeting Allen, while the other eight children were born in the past 10 years.
She said she homeschools the children while working full-time as a medical technician.
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"Not only do I have 11 children and I'm 30 years old, but I also homeschool all of my children and people don't agree with that lifestyle," she said. "And so I've had many people question my right to parent, and I just feel like this whole situation was exploded."
Her husband, Allen, was arraigned Monday afternoon. He is being held on $5.2 million bail.
The children have all been placed in the custody of Rogers' sister and mother in the Bay Area. All 10 children were initially taken into protective custody by Solano County Child Welfare Services.
With the assistance of Child Welfare Services and the Solano County District Attorney's Office, detectives with the Fairfield Police Department's Family Violence Unit initiated an investigation.
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Officials say the investigation revealed a long and continuous history of severe physical and emotional abuse of the children. As a result of the investigation, an arrest warrant was issued for the father of the children and served by detectives on Friday, May 11 at 8:30 a.m. at the family home.
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