MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/CNN) – Neighbors say they called 911 numerous times, fearing for the safety of twin, developmentally disabled women, before their parents were arrested for abuse, which allegedly occurred over at least five years.
One neighbor says she witnessed what she calls “alarming behavior” at the house next door where two 20-year-olds lived with their parents and 10-year-old sister.
"There have been a lot of incidents between yelling and screaming at the kids, to locking them outside in their bras and underwear. One of them even slept on the back steps a couple of nights,” the neighbor said.
The criminal complaint alleges Jerry Curry and Sheila Wilson beat the twins with bats and paddles and kept them chained inside the house. It is also alleged one of the women was repeatedly raped by Curry and gave birth to his baby in October.
Wilson was arrested Friday, while Curry was arrested Wednesday.
"The conduct of these two people, if we prove it in court, is as repulsive and horrendous as anything I have seen in my 18 years as county attorney," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.
According to a criminal complaint, police began investigating Curry after one of the 20-year-old twins ran away and told shelter workers she was afraid of returning home. An examination revealed she’d suffered injuries consistent with abuse.
The twins and their younger sister were removed from the home in May 2017.
Neighbors say they’re frustrated it took years for someone to realize what they feared was happening inside the house.
Documents show police responded to the home more than 50 times since 2011 for reports including a lost child, domestic abuse and welfare checks.
Curry is facing 10 felony charges, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct, first-degree assault, criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult and child endangerment, according to an arrest warrant filed in Hennepin County, MN.
Freeman says his office plans to file for aggravated circumstances to get a longer sentence. If convicted of the charges, Curry faces several decades in prison. He remains behind bars with his bail set at $750,000.
Wilson is being held at the Hennepin County Jail.
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