David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, have been charged with nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment.
The two are scheduled to make their first court appearance later today, where they could face 94 years in prison if convicted.
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin told reporters at a press conference: “We’re fully prepared to seek justice in this case and do so in a way that protects these victims from further harm.”
He added: “These individuals sleep all day and are up all night. All 13 victims and the defendants would go to sleep around four or five in the morning and sleep all day.
“The victims said as a punishment they would be tied up with ropes but when they were able to escape their parents began using chains and padlocks.
“These punishments would last for weeks or even months at a time.
“Evidence in the house suggests the victims were not unchained to go to the bathroom.”
David Turpin was also charged with one count of committing a lewd act on a child by force or duress, Mr Hestrin said.
Both parents were arrested after local authorities said they were alerted after a 17-year-old escaped and called the police after finding a mobile phone in the house in California.
The 17-year-old had been working on an escape plan with her siblings for two years, according to Mr Hestrin.
Six of the children are minors, including the 17-year-old girls who police initially believed to be 10, and seven were over the age of 18.
All of the malnourished children have been hospitalised and have been freed from the house, local police revealed.
The age of the victims ranges from two to 29.
A neighbour who asked to remain anonymous said the houses in the area had recently been built but that he did not know the family.
As they were rescued the siblings reportedly told that they were starving.
California police said: “Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults.
“Further investigation revealed several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings, but the parents were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner.
“The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty.”