Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.
DEMING, N.M. (KRQE) – A New Mexico mother accused of physically and sexually abusing her eight children, whose ages range from 16 years old to 6 months, pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Monday.
Valerie Cordell, 41, is facing 18 charges, 16 of which are abuse of a child (does not result in death or great bodily harm), one charge of conspiracy to commit abuse of a child, and one charge of criminal sexual penetration in the first degree.
Her husband, Melvin Cordell, 50, is also facing 24 charges, including criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact of a minor, abuse of a child, aggravated battery, and tampering with evidence.
New Mexico State Police began investigating the Cordells in October 2024 after receiving a report from Roswell Police. Their 16-year-old daughter reported the abuse while at the New Mexico National Guard Youth Challenge Academy, and RPD was alerted.
The 16-year-old told investigators that she and her siblings were forced by their parents to participate in sexual acts with each other in front of adults.
The teen said she had been pregnant twice, once at the age of 13 and second at her current age, and told investigators that she had “unwanted sex” with her father and two other adult relatives who live in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to court documents.
Melvin Cordell is accused of performing two at-home non-consensual abortions on the 16-year-old and “destroying, changing, or hiding” the two aborted fetuses, court documents stated.
The 16-year-old also told investigators that her parents starved the kids as punishment, recalling instances where they were not fed after they called 911 and CYFD visited the property. Officials believe the abuse took place between 2014 and 2024.
In addition to the sexual abuse, the teen said her parents and siblings lived in “underground caves” made of mud on a 35-acre property.
The property was described in court documents as resembling a “city trash landfill,” as there were buckets of feces, mountains of trash, rotting food, animal skeletons, broken appliances, broken campers, vehicles, and clothes scattered across the property.
Valerie and Melvin Cordell were arrested on Feb. 21, 2025, and remain at the Luna County Detention Center.
Court records show Melvin Cordell is set to be arraigned on May 5.
