Woman accused of abusing her four adopted daughters for years

A Northern California woman has been arrested on suspicion of abusing four girls she adopted.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s office said 63-year-old Patricia Taylor was an adoptive mother to the girls, who range in age from 11 to 16, and had fostered and adopted several other children in the past who had moved out.

An investigation was launched in April when a 14-year-old girl ran away from Taylor’s home in Placerville and told authorities about years of abuse. Detectives talked to Taylor’s other adopted daughters, and they made similar allegations.

Taylor was arrested Thursday on charges of torture, child abuse, false imprisonment, willful cruelty to a child and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child, the sheriff’s office said. She’s being held on nearly $1.5 million bail. It wasn’t immediately known if she had a lawyer who could speak on her behalf.

The children are in protective custody.