'Underground Caves' and Alleged Incestuous Abuse: Inside the Disturbing Case Rocking a N.M. Town

A New Mexico couple is accused of abusing their seven children and sexually assaulting their 16-year-old daughter while forcing them to live in filthy underground caves, surrounded by trash and rotten food, prosecutors allege.

The teen told authorities she had been forced by her parents to engage in sexual acts with her siblings — ranging in age from six months to 16 — in front of other adults, the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.

The 16-year-old also told authorities that she had been sexually assaulted by her father for four years, the district attorney’s office alleges.

On Monday, April 28, Valerie Cordell, 41, of Deming, pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including 16 counts of child abuse, one count of criminal sexual penetration and one count of conspiracy to commit child abuse after being arrested, according to online court records.

Her husband, Melvin Cordell, 50, is charged with 24 counts including criminal sexual contact of a minor, criminal sexual penetration, abuse of a child, aggravated battery, and tampering with evidence. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday, May 5.

The two were arrested on Feb. 21, 2025, following a lengthy investigation that began in October 2024, when the 16-year-old reported the alleged abuse while attending the New Mexico National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy, local station KRQE reports.

The Roswell Police Department and New Mexico State Police began investigating the alleged horrors the teen told them she had endured and the “deplorable” conditions in which she and her siblings have been forced to live, the district attorney said in the release.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE‘s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

During the 4-month investigation, investigators learned that the family of nine was living on a 35-acre site, in a semi-rural part of Luna County, near Deming that they described as “an inhumane, squalid scene,” according to the DA’s Office.

Officials found “a dilapidated trailer, several unlivable camping trailers, broken-down vehicles, boxes of rotting food, bags of trash, along with buckets located all around the property filled with human feces,” the DA’s Office says. 

“The children were found in filthy conditions, they lived outside, year-round, sleeping on a mattress in a semi-underground cave, with tunnels from 4-to-6 feet in length or took shelter in the broken-down vehicles.”

The 16-year-old allegedly told authorities she had gotten pregnant at least twice, when she was 14 and then when she turned 16, police said, KRQE reports.

When the parents were arrested, the children were placed in protective custody with the state, according to the DA’s office.

The Cordells are being held without bond as they await their next court dates.

Attorneys for the couple did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.