'House of horrors:' Dad charged after he beat kids, locked them in urine-soaked room, cops say

A man has been charged after five of his seven children reported to authorities and health care professionals that he beat them with a board, a belt and a curtain rod and kept them locked in a urine-soaked bedroom, according to court records. 

Charles M. Benjamin, 71, of the 1300 block of West Market Street in West York, is accused of beating the children, ranging in age from 2 to 6, severely enough to require medical treatment and to leave scars, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. 

The children's mother, Janay Fountain, 25, has also been charged with 10 counts of endangering the welfare of children, according to court records. She was charged, West York Police Chief Matt Millsaps said, because she stood by while Benjamin allegedly abused the children.

The chief described the home as a "house of horrors." 

"Unfortunately, I've had the unpleasant experience of dealing with a lot of children who have been involved in traumatic incidents," Millsaps said. "This case, it's beyond. The number of children involved. They suffered long-term abuse and terror, as we allege from the evidence."

The couple's youngest children, a set of infant twins, were spared from abuse, Millsaps said. "As tragic as this is, this is one of those cases where, I think, we prevented more serious tragedy in the future." 

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The investigation began on Feb. 6 when caseworkers from the York County office of Children, Youth and Families called West York police to assist in removing the seven children from the home, Millsaps said.

They were taken to the York Hospital emergency room for evaluation of their injuries, and when their mother was asked what happened to one of the children, she replied, “He was abused," according to the criminal complaint. Further asked by whom, she said, “By his father.” 

Later, according to the criminal complaint, four of the children wound up at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, where their foster mother reported that the children had told her that they had been locked in a room and beaten. 

In an interview with a forensic child abuse investigator, the children also described being held underwater in the bathtub, the complaint states. One of the children reported that her father choked her. Another reported seeing his father kick a sibling in the side with his boot. 

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The criminal complaint described numerous injuries and scars borne by the children, injuries that the investigating detective concluded were “consistent with physical abuse.” 

While executing a search warrant at the children’s home, police collected a wooden board, a curtain rod, several belts and a bungee cord as evidence. 

The complaint noted, “Also, in the back bedroom the floor was saturated and stained with urine. Behind the radiator was what appeared to be piles of feces.” 

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A neighbor said she often heard screams and a lot of noise from the house next door. "It sounded like they were bowling over there." 

Benjamin faces multiple charges of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. His bail was set at $250,000. Fountain's bail was set at $200,000.

See photos of crime suspects from February: