PARENTS TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR ISOLATING AND ABUSING CHILDREN BY BINDING THEIR WRISTS AND ANKLES FOR HOURS AND KEEPING THEM FROM SCHOOL AND FAMILY

PARENTS TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR
ISOLATING AND ABUSING CHILDREN BY
BINDING THEIR WRISTS AND ANKLES FOR HOURS AND KEEPING THEM FROM SCHOOL AND FAMILY

FULLERTON – A mother and father will be arraigned tomorrow for abusing their children by binding their wrists and ankles and leaving them tied up for hours at a time. Kimberly Joy Quebe, 48, and John Herman Quebe, 47, both of Anaheim, are charged with 62 felonies for 21 counts of false imprisonment by violence, 21 counts of child abuse, 18 counts of corporal injury on a child with great bodily injury, and two counts of torture. If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of life in prison. The Quebe’s are both being held on $1 million bail and will be arraigned on the amended complaint tomorrow, Thursday, July 31, 2008, at 9:00 a.m. in Department N-3, North Justice Center, Fullerton.

The defendants have been married for 21 years and have lived in the same Anaheim Hills home for six years with their two children, Jane Doe, 15, and John Doe, 11. For the past six years, the Quebe’s are accused of physically and verbally abusing their children. They are accused of frequently tying up the victims for hours at a time by binding their wrists and ankles using tights to punish the children for minor issues. They are accused of leaving the children’s wrists and ankles bound overnight and leaving them to sleep on the floor. The Quebe’s are accused of placing a latch approximately 6 inches from the top of John Doe’s door, out of his reach, and locking him in his room for hours. The defendants are accused of frequently verbally assaulting the children by screaming obscenities and calling them degrading names.

The Quebe’s are accused of refusing to allow other family members to see the victims, not sending the children to school under the false pretense of providing home schooling, and rarely allowing the victim’s to leave the house or go outside.

On July 18, 2008, Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) received an after-hours call from a citizen stating that they had seen the children one week earlier at a community pool with restraint marks and bruising to their wrists and ankles.  SSA contacted the Anaheim Police Department (APD), who went to the home that night but were unable to make contact with the defendants. On July 21, 2008, APD went back to the home with SSA.  After Kimberly Quebe eventually opened the door, officers observed that the victims had dark ligature marks and scarring on their wrists and ankles. Both children were taken into the protective custody by SSA.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Carol Mona at (714)347-8627.  Deputy District Attorney Christine Simmons of the Family Protection Unit is prosecuting this case. 

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