my bet is that he was the dad and was just poor . the tattoos were probably prison tats grew up with a large family and it just is not common anymore. best guess is that he could not not afford two rooms. the big Question is whether they all looked as if they were related....very possible that your spider senses were warning you something was up but I like to think non nefarious first. if he hid the fact that he had a lot bof kids with him then my Spidey senses would tingle .
Around her it is common to have Hispanic families with 5-9 kids. I see them in Wal-mart all the time. Honestly, I am not sure that they leave with the same kids they came in with.