Girl’s Mother, Grandfather Plead Not Guilty to Felony Counts : Abuse: Father of chained, emaciated 6-year-old says he had not seen her in five years. The two suspects are being held in lieu of $250,000 bail each.

RIVERSIDE —  The father of an emaciated 6-year-old Norco girl thought to have been chained to her bed for most of her life said Thursday that he has not seen her in five years and will talk to his lawyer before deciding whether to seek custody.

“I’m upset,” said Melvin Rochlin, 56. “I had no idea this was going on.”

Rochlin, who lives at a senior citizens complex in Mira Loma about four miles from where his daughter, Bettye Jean Topper, allegedly was imprisoned by her mother and grandfather, also said he plans to attend today’s Family Court hearing in Riverside.

The hearing, which is closed to the public, is part of routine procedure to ensure that a child’s removal from a home was proper.

On Thursday, the girl’s mother, Cynthia Sue Topper, 39, and grandfather, Loren Harrison Bess, 75, pleaded not guilty to felony charges of torture, child endangerment and imprisonment.

The suspects face a minimum of seven years in prison if convicted. Bail was set at $250,000 for each.

Both are being held in single cells at the Riverside County Jail to protect them from the other prisoners.

During Thursday’s short court hearing, Topper’s face was devoid of emotion. Bess appeared somber.

They appeared in court wearing jail jumpsuits and shackles.

“The length of the chain the child was affixed with was . . . shorter than the chains the defendants were wearing,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Spira said after the arraignment.

Bettye Topper, who weighed 30 pounds when she was found Tuesday in the Norco home and could not speak or walk, remained at Loma Linda University Medical Center Thursday, where she was in fair condition.

“She is well below normal height and size,” Spira said. “Doctors indicated she was very seriously malnourished and dehydrated when she was brought in. . . . It does appear that for a child to be in the condition she’s in, it has gone on for a number of years.”

A preliminary hearing for the suspects is set for Sept. 22 in Department 41 of Superior Court.

When Topper was 23, she was the victim of a brutal crime. In December 1983, a convicted killer in a jealous rage severely beat Topper--a former girlfriend--with a claw hammer and shot her husband to death.

She required brain surgery twice. During the attacker’s sentencing, Loren Bess said his daughter was never the same after the attack.

Topper’s daughter was discovered Tuesday, after a former neighbor contacted the Sheriff’s Department and expressed concern about the girl.

Deputies found the emaciated girl in a filthy back bedroom, filled with trash and feces. A nylon harness was wrapped around her chest, the deputies said, and a chain clipped to the harness was tied to a bedpost.

On Thursday, offers of money and other help continued to pour in to Loma Linda Medical Center and the county’s social services agency.

Donations may be made to the Trust Account at the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, 4060 County Circle Drive, Riverside, CA 92503. Checks should be payable to the account, with a note saying they’re for the Topper child.

Times staff writer Miles Corwin contributed to this story.