Two lawsuits filed a week apart accuse San Bernardino County’s child welfare system of failing to protect foster children, alleging six were tortured and abused in one foster home and a 4-year-old autistic girl died in another.
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The lawsuits, filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court, were brought by six former foster children in one case and the family of 4-year-old Avery Habelitz in the other. Both name San Bernardino County and its Children and Family Services division as defendants, alleging the county failed to properly monitor foster placements, investigate reports of abuse and intervene despite mounting evidence that children were in danger.
According to the suit filed July 14 by the court-appointed representative on behalf of the six former foster children, the children allegedly were subjected to nine years of horrific abuse by their foster parents, Tina and Kenneth Key, and their daughter, Katlynn Key, at their home in Victorville. The lawsuit also names the Keys, the Greater Hope Foundation for Children Inc. and Victor Elementary School District as defendants.
The children, according to the lawsuit, were routinely beaten with belts, cords, wooden sticks and other objects; bound with duct tape; and punched, kicked and choked until the point of unconsciousness. Socks were stuffed into their mouths to prevent anyone from hearing their screams, the suit alleged. And the children were deprived of food and water, forced to stand for hours holding books or lie in dark rooms, and sexually abused and coerced into sexual acts under threats of violence, it further alleged.
On Feb. 9, 2025, one of the children, now 17, ran away to a nearby grocery store and asked employees to call police, according to the lawsuit. When officers responded, she complained of chest pains and was taken to a hospital, where she disclosed years of physical and emotional abuse, refused to return to the home, and told hospital staff that if she was sent back she would either kill herself or her foster family would kill her, according to the lawsuit.
When authorities later interviewed the other five foster children, they also described years of physical abuse and torture, leading to all six children being removed from the home, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also alleges that county social workers, the foster family agency and school district employees repeatedly missed or ignored warning signs, including visible injuries, disclosures of abuse, missed welfare visits and complaints from the children.
“One of the most disturbing aspects of this case to me is that over the years there were repeated reports of neglect and abuse that were ignored by social workers,” attorney Jack Anthony, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “The oldest child ran away and stated she would be killed or would kill herself if returned to the home. Another child produced photographs of serious injuries caused by physical abuse.
“It wasn’t until these things occurred that the children’s reports of continuous abuse including torture were acted upon,” he said.
Kenneth, Tina and Katlynn Key were arrested in May 2025. Each was charged with six felony counts of torture, one felony count of willfully causing or permitting a child to suffer, and an enhancement of causing great bodily injury. Their preliminary hearing is underway in Victorville Superior Court, where the sixth day of testimony is scheduled to resume Thursday, July 23, before Judge Rasheed S. Alexander, court records show.
The lawsuit filed July 7 by the family of 4-year-old Avery Habelitz alleges San Bernardino County Children and Family Services, two foster family agencies and multiple social workers ignored repeated warnings that Avery, who was autistic and nonverbal, required specialized care unavailable in her foster placements.
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The lawsuit alleges Avery was removed from her parents’ home and placed in foster care in Apple Valley, despite an individualized behavioral treatment plan calling for 32 hours a month of one-on-one behavioral therapy, 50 hours of social skills training, 20 hours of supervision and 15 hours of oversight by a board certified behavior analyst.
Those services ceased after she entered foster care and were never resumed despite repeated warnings that interrupting treatment could worsen her self-injurious behaviors and other developmental challenges, according to the lawsuit.
Sometime between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2025, Avery woke up crying and, according to the lawsuit, repeatedly banged her head against furniture and was restrained by her foster mother, who allegedly bound both legs into one pajama leg, confined her arms inside a hooded sweatshirt and placed a protective helmet on her head, then covered it with the hood of the sweatshirt to prevent Avery from removing the helmet, according to the lawsuit.
When the girl’s foster mother checked on her at 10 a.m. that morning, the suit alleges, Avery was unresponsive, struggling to breathe, and soaked in sweat — her skin wrinkled from persperation. She was taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, and then to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital in “profound shock.” She was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m.
The coroner determined Avery’s cause of death was combined hyperthermia with positional restraint, with the manner of death listed as undetermined, according to the lawsuit.
“The child welfare system exists to protect children who cannot protect themselves,” attorney Wyatt Vespermann said in a statement. “Avery’s caregivers, treatment providers, and even the foster parents themselves repeatedly warned that she needed a higher level of care. Those warning signs were not acted upon until it was too late, and we intend to hold every responsible party accountable.”
Anthony, who is also representing Avery’s family in the litigation, said, “When the government removes a child from her parents, it assumes a legal duty to protect that child. That legal duty was repeatedly breached despite clear warning signs that Avery required specialized care. This was an entirely preventable tragedy.”
Avery and her sister were placed in foster care due to allegations of neglect by the parents. Her sister, who also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, subsequently was reunited with her parents, Anthony said.
Janelle Needham, a county spokesperson, declined to comment on the lawsuits Tuesday, citing the pending litigation.
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