Alabama Mother and Her Boyfriend Accused of Using Blowtorch to Torture and Burn Her 3 Children

An Alabama mother and her boyfriend were arrested after they allegedly burned and tortured her young children with a blowtorch and subjected them to other abuse, authorities said.

On Oct. 5, officials said the couple, identified as 27-year-old Ashleigh Ableman and 53-year-old Howard Anderson, were charged with torture/willful abuse of a child, according to the Dale County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials from the Department of Human Services said they were informed that the three children made allegations against Ableman and Anderson regarding the suspected abuse.

Dale County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Caroline Jackson claimed there were “obvious marks of abuse on the children,” according to WDHN-TV.

All three victims are younger than 12 years old and officials said the two adults allegedly seriously burned the children using a blowtorch, WDHN-TV reported.

“This is a case of obvious torture to these children," Jackson told the station. "We knew immediately that we had to intervene.”

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Ableman and Anderson were both booked into the Dale County Jail and were being held without bond, officials said.

The investigation is ongoing.