Parents accused of beating kids with bats, chaining them; father allegedly raped daughter

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota -- Parents accused in a horrible case of child abuse are now behind bars.

But neighbors in a Minneapolis neighborhood say they suspected something was terribly wrong for a while.

"The system has to be fixed. This is not how things should work. This should have been resolved years ago," one neighbor told WCCO.

This neighbor witnessed what she calls alarming behavior at the home next door where two 20-year-olds lived with their parents. A younger sibling also lived there.

"There have been a lot of incidences between yelling and screaming at the kids, 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 Sheila Wilson and Jerry Curry beat the twins with bats and paddles and kept them chained inside. It's alleged one of the girls was repeatedly raped by Curry.

She gave birth to his baby in October.

"My first call was several years ago," a neighbor said.

WCCO reported that Minneapolis police responded to the home more than 50 times since 2011. Reports include a lost child, domestic abuse and welfare checks. The siblings were removed from the home last May after one of the girls escaped and reported the abuse.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said investigating these cases is complex.

"In most of these kinds of cases the folks being abused are strongly urged at the threat of violence to deny any wrongdoing," Freeman said.

Freeman did call the couple's alleged behavior repulsive and horrendous and said his office plans to file for aggravated circumstances to get a longer sentence.

Wilson goes before a judge on Monday. Bond was set at $750,000 for Curry.