A Florida couple is being charged with little one neglect after allegedly preserving 4 kids confined within the cab of a tractor-trailer for nearly seven years with out “time to take showers, use the restroom” or “train outdoors,” arrest information present.
The youngsters “haven’t been allowed to attend faculty for about 5 years,” they advised interviewers at a little one advocacy middle, based on an arrest report.
Keisha Epps, 51, and her fiancé, Tamra Marshon Stewart, 37, have been dwelling within the cab with the kids whereas Epps works as a truck driver, driving a route between Miami and Atlanta, based on court docket paperwork.
Since December 2019, the kids have been saved contained in the automobile “for almost all of their days.”
A detective on the case reported the kids have been “strolling with an unnatural gait from being confined to the cab.”
They have been “fed poorly,” and so they by no means obtained medical or dental care—even for emergencies, the report exhibits.
Throughout the interview, one of many kids recalled a time she “burned herself badly with cooked noodles.”
“There was a number of blood,” she stated.
Neither Stewart nor Epps took her to get medical remedy, the kid advised investigators. The kid has a “everlasting scar” from the burn, court docket information present.
Stewart “would watch” the kids when Epps was sleeping, showering and driving the truck, the kids stated. And when the kids witnessed sexual abuse and confronted Stewart, he “beat them by punching them of their heads,” reviews present. The id of the alleged sufferer of sexual abuse wasn’t clear.
The youngsters stated they advised Epps in regards to the sexual abuse and noticed her witness the sexual abuse. She known as one “derogatory names and continued to go away them alone with” Stewart, reviews present.
One of many kids was discovered to have an untreated sexually transmitted an infection.
All 4 kids shared a bunk within the cab so small that they needed to lie “curled up facet by facet as a result of they may not match,” reviews present.
Each Epps and Stewart have been arrested on Aug. 6, 2026, based on a closely redacted report filed with the court docket by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Workplace.
Epps and Stewart each have been charged with 4 counts of kid neglect—one rely for every little one. Every rely of a third-degree felony is punishable by as much as 5 years in jail, as much as 5 years’ probation and a high-quality of as much as $5,000. Investigators stated their actions demonstrated a “dedicated, willful failure or omission to supply a toddler with the care, supervision, and companies vital to keep up the kid’s bodily and psychological well being, together with however not restricted to, meals, diet, clothes, shelter, supervision, medication and medical companies {that a} prudent particular person would contemplate important to the wellbeing of the kid.”
In line with court docket paperwork, “capital sexual battery prices” in opposition to Stewart shall be filed within the “ninth Judicial District by the Statewide Prosecutor,” a report exhibits. Beneath Florida legislation, anybody convicted of sexual battery of a kid youthful than 12 years outdated can face the demise penalty or life in jail with out parole.
All details about the kids was redacted from reviews, together with their sexes, ages and relationships to one another and to Epps and Stewart. Epps and Stewart are being held within the Duval County Jail awaiting trial. Bond was set at $400,012 for Epps. Stewart was being held with out bond.
When you or somebody you realize is affected by any of the problems raised on this story, name the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
