Neat and tidy from the outside, a two-story stucco home in an upscale San Jose neighborhood was a house of horrors on the inside, authorities say — a place where disabled adults were beaten, starved and not even allowed to use toilet paper.

The victims, mostly Vietnamese immigrants who speak little English and are unable to tend to themselves, lived among rotting food and more than two-dozen dogs whose pools of urine and feces littered the home, authorities said.

"The conditions were pretty deplorable," Santa Clara County Assistant District Attorney Charles Huang said Monday. "The general impression was that the dogs appeared to be better off than the victims."

Earlier this month, five family members were charged with dependent adult abuse and animal neglect, both felonies, for their roles in the abuse. On Monday, suspects George Dac Nguyen, Jennifer Ngo, Charles Nguyen and Margaret Ngo were taken into custody after a Santa Clara County judge increased their bail amount to $500,000. They are due back in court on Aug. 21.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a fifth suspect, Kathy Le, who is not currently in custody, authorities said.