New Mexico Couple Charged with Abuse of Seven Children in Underground Caves

A New Mexico couple, Valerie and Melvin Cordell, have been charged with multiple counts of child abuse and sexual assault after authorities discovered their children living in squalid underground caves on a rural property near Deming. The abuse came to light when their 16-year-old daughter reported years of sexual abuse, forced incest, and extreme deprivation to staff at the New Mexico National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy, prompting a four-month investigation. The children, ranging in age from six months to 16 years, were found living in deplorable conditions surrounded by trash, rotting food, and human waste, with reports of coercion, starvation, and at-home abortions. Both parents remain in custody, facing charges including criminal sexual penetration, child abuse, aggravated battery, and conspiracy to commit child abuse. The case has prompted ongoing investigations into possible accomplices and additional abuse spanning a decade. All children have since been placed in protective custody.