Police Arrest Couple For Holding Four Children Captive in Truck for 7 years

A Florida woman and her fiancée have been arrested after four children were allegedly kept living inside the cab of a tractor-trailer truck for several years without access to proper education, medical care or basic hygiene, according to court documents.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said 51-year-old Keisha Monique Epps and 37-year-old Tamra Marshon Stewart were arrested during the first week of August 2026 and charged with four counts of child neglect each.

Investigators said the children had been living in the truck with the pair since December 2019.

According to a detective’s report, all four children told investigators they had not attended school for about five years and had not received routine or urgent medical and dental care during that period.

The allegations became more serious after one of the children reportedly disclosed being sexually assaulted by Stewart.

Court documents state that the child was later diagnosed with an untreated sexually transmitted infection during a medical examination conducted by the Child Protection Team in May.

The documents further allege that the children told Epps about the abuse, but that she failed to intervene and instead blamed them for Stewart’s alleged behaviour.

When the children confronted Stewart, he allegedly assaulted them by punching them in the head, according to investigators.

Prosecutors are expected to file additional charges relating to alleged sexual abuse, the report said.

Investigators also described the conditions in which the children allegedly lived. They reportedly spent most of their time inside the truck cab, where they shared a bed and were unable to lie fully flat in the bunk because of its limited size.

The children were allegedly rarely allowed to leave the truck, including to use the bathroom. Authorities also said they were poorly fed and were not permitted to shower or exercise regularly.

According to the report, Stewart remained with the children while Epps drove the truck.

It was not immediately clear whether the four children were related to either of the suspects.

The allegations are contained in court documents, and the suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.