Deming couple charged in ‘horrific’ abuse case

DEMING — A Deming couple has been charged with multiple counts of child abuse and sexual abuse involving children police say were living in deplorable conditions.

New Mexico State Police said the couple had been targets of an investigation since last October, following a report to the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department.

“Agents learned that multiple minor children were living in horrific conditions, and sleeping outdoors, creating a risk to their health and safety,” NMSP stated in a news release.

Melvin Cordell, 50, and Valerie Cordell, 41, were arrested last week and booked into the Luna County Detention Center.

District Attorney Norman Wheeler’s office is seeking to hold both defendants through trial, citing the horrific nature of the allegations and the span of time over which the alleged crimes occurred, arguing that no conditions of pretrial release would ensure the safety of the community.

The motion stresses potential danger for the eight children, as well as one adult sibling, if the Cordells were released. Neither defendant has any previous criminal history, prosecutors said.

A police affidavit states eight siblings between the ages of 6 months and 16 years were taken into CYFD custody for their protection.

Police said the children reported sleeping in caves dug into the ground or in a parked van on a 35-acre property in a remote area north of Deming. The affidavit said the property, where officers executed a search warrant, resembled “a city trash landfill” strewn with garbage, human waste and unlivable structures such as old trailers and vehicles.

The affidavit also stated that the children were refused food as punishment for seeking help; and that one child had been sexually violated by multiple individuals, including Melvin Cordell and others, resulting in two pregnancies.

“The living conditions … were so appalling that it was beyond comprehension,” prosecutors’ motion for pretrial detention states.

Valerie Cordell was charged on 16 counts of child abuse and a single count of attempting to commit felony abuse of a child, per court records. Melvin Cordell was also charged with 16 counts of child abuse as well as two counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13, one second-degree count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit child abuse.

Neither of the Cordells appeared to have legal representation as of Tuesday, when they were scheduled to make their first appearances in Luna County Magistrate Court. Their pretrial detention hearings should take place in early March, prosecutors said.