A couple in Vancouver, Wash­ington are facing second degree assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal mistreatment charg­es for allegedly starving, impris­oning and torturing their adopted 16-year-old Filipino twins. Authorities arrested Jeff Weller, 42, and Sandra Weller, 48, on October 12 after a tip from Child Protective Services, according to a report by Oregon news station KATU. The Associated Press later revealed that one of the twins slipped a note to an unnamed individual who reported it to au­thorities and which led to an in­vestigation. Six children have been removed from the home including the Fili­pino twins, a boy and a girl. The twins were adopted by Sandra Weller 14 years ago in California. Four of the children are in protec­tive custody. The other two are staying with family relatives. According to court documents obtained by KATU and the Asso­ciated Press, the Wellers would lock the teenagers in their room, feed them once a day and beat them with a wooden board when they tried to steal food.

Police said the twins were iso­lated from family members and restricted from seeing their par­ents or siblings, the AP reports. During the investigation, in­vestigators found the interior doorknob of the twin’s bedroom was removed, the window was locked and the door was rigged with an alarm if they tried to leave the room. The room also had no electricity, according to reports.

The twins were home schooled and had no outside contact. They told investigators that they were only permitted to leave their room for chores and occasionally to eat. The teenagers described being forced to “steal” food in the house where cabinets and the re­frigerator were secured with locks and chains, according to the AP. The other children would often sneak food to the Filipino teenag­ers, the KATU report said.
If the teenagers were caught, “both are made to lie on the kitchen floor with no pants or un­derwear covering them and are struck on their buttock region repeatedly with a wooden stick, often making them bleed,” the court documents said. Their step­father administered weekly beat­ings while their mother watched, the teens told police.

Police found a blood stained wooden board during their inves­tigation. During investigation police asked why the children were so thin, the Weller’s responded, “(the twins) are Filipino; therefore they are thin due to their heritage.” The Wellers, who are free on bail, will be arraigned in Clark County Superior Court Oct. 27.

Meanwhile, neighbors inter­viewed by KATU had noticed something was amiss with the Wellers’ home where they often hear people yelling. Brothers Dimitry and Erik Makhanov, who lives across the street from the Wellers, said they would often see a girl with patch­es of hair gone bathing or wash- ing her clothes in the middle of the night. The AP reports that officers were called to the home three times this year. Child protective services had also investigated the Wellers eight times before the ar­rest but claims that the children and teenagers would often deny the abuse.
(www.asian­journal.com)

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