ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A couple faces 20 charges after investigators said four children were sexually abused and confined inside a semi-truck’s sleeper cab for more than six years.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the charges Tuesday against Tamra Marshon Stewart, 37, of Jacksonville, and Keysha Monique Epps, 51, of Atlanta.
The two are charged in Orange County with sexually battering, molesting and neglecting the children.
“These children were trapped in a rolling prison and abused by the adults who were supposed to protect them,” Uthmeier said.
According to investigators, Epps and Stewart served as the four children’s primary caregivers from January 2020 through April 2026.
Epps worked as a commercial truck driver and traveled between Atlanta and Miami, making stops throughout Florida, including Orlando.
Authorities said the children lived with the couple inside the truck’s sleeper cab and were forced to share a single bunk. Investigators allege they were denied adequate food, hygiene, schooling and medical care.
Two of the children suffered untreated burns that left significant scars, according to the attorney general’s office. Another child was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection after leaving the couple’s custody.
The two girls reported that Stewart sexually abused them for years, investigators said. The two boys said they witnessed the abuse and were beaten after confronting Stewart and telling Epps.
Investigators allege Epps knew about the abuse but failed to stop or report it.
The attorney general’s office said Stewart admitted during an interview after being read his rights to committing three sexual batteries against one of the girls. One of those alleged crimes occurred in Orlando.
Stewart is charged with:
- Two counts of sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority
- Two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12
- Two counts of battery of a child by expelling certain fluids or materials
- Two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm
- Two counts of child neglect causing permanent disfigurement
Epps is charged with:
- Two counts of sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority
- Two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12
- Two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm
- Two counts of child neglect causing permanent disfigurement
- Four counts of failing to report child abuse
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The case will be prosecuted by special counsels Rita Peters, Stephanie Bergen and Beth Shelley in Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit, which includes Orange and Osceola counties.
Investigators said the case remains open and additional charges could be filed.
Anyone who knows or suspects that a child is being abused, neglected or abandoned can contact the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873. Anyone who believes a child is in immediate danger should call 911.
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