Content warning: This article describes extreme child abuse. Please take care while reading.
New Mexico police arrested Melvin Cordell of Luna County recently on 24 felony charges. Those charges included multiple counts of criminal sexual penetration, child abuse, and aggravated battery.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Jennifer DeLaney ordered the pretrial detention following Cordell’s waiver of a detention hearing on March 10, 2025. The case, which has shocked the rural community of Deming, continues to draw significant local attention as it unfolds in court.
According to a press release from the Sixth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, police arrested. Cordell, alongside his wife, Valerie Cordell, on February 21, 2025, after a months-long investigation by New Mexico State Police.
Authorities charged the Cordells following the discovery of severe abuse involving seven children on their property in Luna County. Law enforcement separately detained Valerie without bond on March 3, 2025.
The children lived in “cave-like structures”
Melvin and Valerie Cordell are a couple from Deming, New Mexico, who were arrested on February 21, 2025, following a child abuse investigation by the New Mexico State Police. The investigation began in October 2024 after a report was made to the New Mexico Children, Youth, and… pic.twitter.com/SfhB7wU7Q9
— RebelwithoutaReason (@RebelwoaReason) February 26, 2025
The allegations stem from a report received on October 23, 2024, concerning sexual abuse of a minor. Over four months of investigation revealed that the Cordells and their seven children had been living in squalid, unsafe conditions on a 35-acre semi-rural property near Deming.
Authorities described the environment as “inhumane,” with broken-down vehicles, rotting food, trash piles, and human waste scattered across the property. Some of the children, exposed to extreme weather and unsanitary living conditions, lived in a cave-like structure or abandoned vehicles.
The 6th Judicial DA press release said, “During the 4-month investigation, agents learned that the family of 9 was living on a 35-acre site, located in a semi-rural portion of Luna County, near Deming. Investigating officers described it as an inhumane, squalid scene.”
It added, “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.
It concluded, “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.”
Several unwanted pregnancies
Authorities placed the children, ranging from six months to sixteen years old, in protective custody with the state following the arrests. Authorities learned that one child had been abused for more than four years during interviews.
According to New Mexico news outlet KRQE, the teenage girl said she’d been pregnant several times and had at-home abortions. She and the other children were forced to perform sex acts with their parents, other adults, and each other.
The criminal proceedings began on April 3, 2025, with the formal filing of charges and the appointment of public defender Mario A.R. Carreon to represent Cordell. Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Harkwell Clark is prosecuting the case. Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Harkwell Clark is prosecuting the case.
This disturbing case has prompted calls from local advocacy groups and residents for stronger intervention policies and more robust child protection oversight in rural communities. The Sixth Judicial District Attorney’s Office encourages anyone with further information relevant to the case to come forward. Valerie pleaded not guilty on May 1, 2025. Melvin will be arraigned on May 5, according to court records.
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673
Published: May 2, 2025 02:29 pm