The Turpin parents face 94 years in jail each if convicted as prosecutors branded the case one of “human depravity.”
It comes as photos emerged of the couple and their children on regular trips to Disneyland where it appears the children were forced to wear identical clothes each time.
David and Louise Turpin were apparently obsessed with the famous tourist venue, in Anaheim, California – and their Facebook revealed they visited on several occasions with their huge family in tow.
At the time, the couple had twelve children, and all are seen smiling with Mickey Mouse in front of the famous castle.
On each trip, they seem to be wearing the same clothes – the younger girls clad in pink shirts from the Disney television show Wizards of Waverly place, the older ones in Mickey and Minnie Mouse T-shirts, and the boys in Toy Story T-shirts.
The visits to the theme park stopped abruptly after 2012, around the time the Turpins filed for bankruptcy.
Apart from the visits, further evidence of their preoccupation with Disney came in the form of merchandise in the back garden of their home, in Perris, California, including pet food bowls and a Mickey and Minnie Mouse fountain, while two cars had personalised number plates, one reading DLand and a second reading DL4ever.
On the face of it, the photographs show a family on a fun day out – but the reality was very different, as police discovered when they raided the property on Sunday after the couple’s 17-year-old daughter had managed to escape via a window and raise the alarm.
Mr Turpin, 57, and his 49-year-old wife have been charged with torture, child abuse and false imprisonment, as prosecutors said the victims had been beaten, starved and chained.
Each faces 94 years to life in prison if convicted on more than two dozen charges against them, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin told reporters at a press conference.