Benjamin Whitten (pictured), 33, was arrested along with his girlfriend for child abuse this week
A father serving in the Navy was arrested along with his girlfriend on suspicion that the couple tortured the man’s five-year-old son.
Murrieta County police said they have arrested Benjamin Whitten and Jeryn Johnson on multiple counts of child abuse after being receiving a distress call on Tuesday.
Police and fire personnel were dispatched to an emergency call at 24001 Verdun Lane shortly after 10.00am and discovered a child with ‘severe injuries,’ according to to Los Angeles local affiliate KTLA.
The child was subsequently airlifted to a San Diego hospital in what KTLA describes as in ‘grave condition.’
Whitten along with his girlfriend Jeryn Johnson (pictured) were charges with willful harm to a child, infliction of great bodily injury, and torture
Neighbors held a vigil for the boy outside near the home where the child was found, which police said was in ‘unsanitary’ condition housing nearly a dozen dogs and four cats.
Police said based on the evidence gathered in interviews with Whitten and Johnson, they determined that they were responsible for the boy’s ‘dire’ state.
They were charged with willful harm to a child, infliction of great bodily injury, and torture, according to police.
Whitten, 33, is an active-duty Navy sailor stationed in San Diego.
Johnson, 25, reportedly placed the distress call concerning the child’s condition, according to Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad.
A US Navy spokesperson confirmed that Whitten is a soldier who enlisted in 2009. He serves as a machinist’s mate nuclear first class stationed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Detachment in San Diego.
KTLA reported that in September 2016, Johnson advertised child care services on a Facebook group for mother’s in Temucula, California.
‘I’m a military wife and stay at home mom to a 4 year old boy,’ Johnson wrote, in part. ‘I’m not licensed but I am cpr and 1st aid certified. Please private message me if interested!’
Police say that Johnson placed the distress call to report that the five-year-old was in ‘dire condition’
The US Navy confirmed that Whitten is an enlisted sailor and serves a machinist’s mate nuclear first class