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Mom arrested in abuse case

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Mom arrested in abuse case

Anslee Willett

The Gazette

The mother of six adopted children has been arrested on suspicion of locking them in the family's Stetson Hills basement, allegedly to keep them from running away or taking food from the pantry.

Samia Fam, 47, was served a summons Thursday on suspicion of six counts of child abuse and six counts of false imprisonment, all misdemeanors, Colorado Springs police said.

Her husband, William Fam, 59, was served a summons last week on suspicion of the same 12 counts.

The four boys and two girls, between the ages of 7 and 16, were taken into custody by the El Paso County Department of Human Services.

Police said it was unclear where or when the children were adopted.

County records show the Fams have owned the two-story, five- bedroom house in the 5400 block of War Paint Place since May 2003.

Police began investigating the couple Nov. 16 after one of the boys, 14, allegedly was assaulted by William Fam in the basement of the 3,800-square-foot house.

People at the boy's school noticed scratches and bruises on him and notified police.

As officers investigated the assault, they learned the teen lived in a basement bedroom with three other boys and that two girls lived in the main room of the finished basement, which has a bathroom.

Sgt. Howard Black said it appears for at least several months the children were locked up overnight and sometimes on the weekends.

"We're taking a look to see if any of the children were locked up for more than 12 hours," he said.

That time frame would make the false imprisonment counts a felony.

Some of the children told police the Fams punished them through physical force and by withholding food.

The basement bedroom and main room were rigged with video cameras monitored by the Fams in the upstairs part of the house, police said.

2006 Dec 1