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San Diego sailor and his girlfriend held on assault charges

Posted at 2:46 PM, Aug 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-17 23:19:39-04

TEMECULA, Calif. (KGTV) - A San Diego-based sailor and his girlfriend are being held on $1 million bail Thursday in a beating case involving the sailor's 5-year-old son in Murrieta.

Murrieta firefighters were called to a home Tuesday and found the boy with severe injuries. Crews flew him to Rady Children's Hospital.

Police said the home was "extremely unsanitary" with 11 dogs, four cats, and two fish.

RELATED: San Diego sailor accused of torturing son, 5

The boy's father, Benjamin Whitten, and Whitten's live-in girlfriend, Jeryn Johnson, were arrested by Murrieta officers. They're charged with willful harm to a child and infliction of great bodily injury, according to Murrieta Police.

Whitten is a U.S. Navy 1st Class Petty Officer. He is being held at Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta. Johnson was booked into Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

The couple's arraignment will take place next week.