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In a chilling case of abuse that lasted for years, four children were allegedly kept captive in the sleeper cab of a truck, where they were sexually and physically abused by two adults.
The two boys and two girls, who did not go to school, were very rarely allowed to leave the “rolling dungeon,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told a press conference.
The alleged abuse began when the four young children were aged between five and nine while they were being driven between Atlanta and Miami. Two adults have since been arrested.
Keysha Monique Epps, 51, of Atlanta, and Tamra Marshon Stewart, 37, of Jacksonville, are accused of sexually battering, molesting, and neglecting the children.
Stewart will be charged with two counts of sexual battery by a parent, two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12, two counts of battery of a child by expelling certain fluids or materials, two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, and two counts of child neglect causing permanent disfigurement.
Epps will be handed two counts of sexual battery by a parent, two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12, two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, two counts of childhood neglect causing permanent disfigurement, and four counts of failure to report child abuse.
In the recent press conference in Kissimmee on Tuesday, September 1, Uthmeier revealed horrifying details about the squalor the children were confined to.
He told the crowd of journalists: “They were malnourished, they weren’t frequently fed, they weren’t cleaned, they weren’t given showers.
“The evidence shows that the truck would, at times, hit a truck station where the adults would go to the restroom, they might take a shower, but they would leave the kids locked in this rolling dungeon.”
Tragically, he also added that the children now suffer from “severe infirmities” as a result of the abuse, and were even spotted “walking with an unnatural gait from being confined to the cab.”
Unsurprisingly, they were also reported to have been “poorly fed” and never received dental or medical care, even in emergencies, although it was clear that they needed it.
During an interview with investigators, one of the children recalled a time she “burned herself badly with cooked noodles.”
According to court records, the child did not receive any medical treatment and had even been left with a "permanent scar".
Closing the press conference, Uthmeier said: “Let me be clear, here in Florida we have zero tolerance for anybody that wants to hurt kids."
