Florida authorities say two girls, both under 11 years old, and two boys were imprisoned in the cab of a semi-truck for six years and suffered neglect and abuse, incuding sexual abuse, at the hands of their biological grandmother and her fiancé, The New York Times reports.
The suspects — trucker Tamra Marshon Stewart, 37, of Atlanta and Keysha Monique Epps, 51, of Jacksonville, Florida — were arrested on August 5 by the Jacksonville Sheriff, charged with
- sexual battery by a person with familial or custodial authority,
- lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12,
- battery of a child when expelling certain fluids or materials,
- child neglect without great bodily harm, and
- child neglect causing permanent disfigurement.
One of the girls, now 12, told authorities Mr Stewart had touched her inappropriately every day for two years and that her grandmother knew it was happening but pretended to be asleep on at least one occasion, the warrant said.
The four children allegedly had to sleep in the top bunk of the cab, even though the mattress was too small to accommodate all four of them. According to the warrant, they used a plastic cup to relieve themselves and a grocery bag for bodily waste.
An education would have been the furthest thing from these kids’ minds during this ordeal, but reports said they were using Khan Academy lessons in place of formal schooling. Khan Academy is a website that offers video lessons and various formative assessment instruments that students and their families can use.
“This is just straight evil, and a scourge on our society,” the Times quoted Mark Glass, the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as saying during a news conference Tuesday.
