The Mendocino County District Attorney's Office has charged a Talmadge couple with 21 felony counts related to allegations of sexual abuse of their children for more than 15 years.
Donald Dunakin, 61, and Ina Medina, 47, face nine counts each of aggravated sexual assault of a child and nine counts each of torture, all for incidents that allegedly occurred between 1997 and 2005, according to department spokesman Mike Geniella. They also were charged with one count each of abusing or endangering the health of a child over the same time period.
Two more charges stem from Jan. 14, 2014 - one alleging a violent sexual offense and one for a sexual act with a child 10 or younger, Geniella said.
The pair were arrested by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office in late January after Child Protective Services reported the issue.
Sheriff's detectives investigating the case concluded that there was evidence that the couple, who have lived in the Ukiah area together for 30 years, had been abusing at least two of their children for many years, Capt. Greg Van Patten said at the time of the arrest. The age of the children at the time they were abused ranged from 3 to 16, Van Patten said.
Both remain in the Mendocino County jail. Dunakin is being held on $3 million bail while Medina is being held on $2.8 million bail, according to jail booking authorities.
The case remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Office tip line at 234-2100.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: