A trucker and her partner have been arrested and accused of confining four children to the cab of a semi truck for nearly seven years, neglecting and sexually battering them, authorities in Florida said.
Keisha (Keysha) Monique Epps, 51, and her fiancé, Tamra Marshon Stewart, 37, were arrested Aug. 7 in Jacksonville. The pair told authorities they have been living in the truck’s cab while Epps worked as a truck driver, with routes between Florida and Georgia.
An arrest report obtained by the USA TODAY Network in Florida said the children lived in the cab since December 2019, all sleeping in a top bunk so cramped they had to lie “side by side and curled up because they could not fit.” The report said they were “rarely allowed out of the cab of the truck, even if they needed to use the restroom.”
The children did not attend school, were fed poorly and did not receive medical attention even if injured or sick, according to the report. Detectives noticed the children “walking with an unnatural gait from being confined to the cab,” which they were kept in the majority of the day.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office said two girls reported years of sexual abuse by Stewart, and two boys reported being beaten after confronting Stewart and telling Epps.
“These children were trapped in a rolling prison and abused by the adults who were supposed to protect them,” Uthmeier said in a statement.
Epps and Stewart were assigned public defenders. USA TODAY has reached out to the public defender’s office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
Children kept in a semi truck cab for years, authorities say
The children’s names and ages, along with their relationship to Epps or Stewart, were not revealed by authorities. They last attended an accredited school in November 2020, according to the arrest report.
“The children were required to share a single bunk, were denied adequate food, hygiene, schooling, and medical care,” Uthmeier’s office said.
During a medical exam by the Child Protection Team in Clay County in May 2026, it was discovered one victim had a sexually transmitted disease. The same victim reported she was burned by hot noodles and was not taken for medical treatment despite “a lot of blood” and an injury that resulted in permanent scarring. A second child also had an untreated burn that led to scarring, Uthmeier’s office said.
Stewart admitted in an interview with investigators after being read his rights to sexually battering one of the girls on three occasions, according to Uthmeier’s office.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on July 23 about a ”multi-jurisdictional capital sexual battery case” involving juveniles, according to the arrest report. At some point, the children were interviewed by the Child Advocacy Center in Gainesville.
The children told Epps that Stewart was sexually abusing a victim, and the children told authorities Epps witnessed the abuse, did not stop it and instead blamed them for Stewart’s behavior.
Uthmeier’s office said Stewart and Epps both face multiple charges related to sexual abuse of a child and child neglect. Epps also faces counts of failure to report child abuse.
Michelle Spitzer is a journalist for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. As the network’s Rapid Response reporter, she covers Florida’s breaking news. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at