The California mother had told reporters Tuesday she was a model mother.
The 10 children rescued from a filthy, Fairfield, Calif., home were shot with crossbows, punched, strangled and waterboarded by their father while their mother stood by and did nothing to stop the abuse, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The horrific details were included in a motion to increase the bail of Ina Rogers, 31, who was charged with nine felony counts of child abuse in Solano Superior Court. She did not enter a plea, but has denied allegations her kids were abused and told reporters Tuesday that she was an "amazing mother."
Deputy District Attorney Veronica Juarez wrote that the children were continuously "punched, strangled, bitten, shot with weapons such as crossbows and BB guns, hit with weapons such as sticks and bats, subjected to 'waterboarding' and having scalding water poured on them," her motion said.
The allegations came from extensive interviews with many of the children, who range in age from 12 years to 4 months. "I'm horrified by the statements that were given by these children," she told the court.
Prosecutors have not divulged additional details about the case, saying they prefer to make their case in court. Father Jonathan Allen, 29, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of torture and felony child abuse. He is being held at the Solana County Jail in lieu of $5.2 million bail.
According to Juarez's motion, Fairfield police came to the family's house in a suburb located about 45 miles north of San Francisco on March 31 to investigate one of the children being reported as missing. Officers said the home was filled with rotting food, feces and trash.
The children were "huddled together on the living room floor. The children appeared to be skittish and spoke with speech impediments," she wrote.
The prosecutor alleged the mother assisted her husband in the abuse by telling their children not to report injuries that included broken arms. Judge William J. Pendergast set bail at $495,000 for Rogers. She "may not be a danger to the public at large, but these charges make clear she is a danger to the children," he said.
Rogers was taken into custody after the hearing.
Details of the alleged abuse came out gradually after the March visit by police, who removed the children from the home. They have been placed in the care of relatives while meeting with investigators and being evaluated by child welfare professionals.
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