Latest news with #DanielCaler
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Monster couple's heinous acts against young girl who they fed just one Pop-Tart a week while keeping her prisoner
An Arkansas couple allegedly subjected a young teenage girl to years of sexual assault, starvation, physical violence, and forced drug use - all while threatening to kill her if she ever spoke out. Daniel Ray Caler, 34, and his wife Annie Claire Caler, 28, of Rogers, Arkansas were arrested on May 9 after the alleged teenage victim made a chilling revelation to her school counselor. The girl revealed how she had been raped repeatedly by Daniel Caler over the course of three years, beginning in August 2020, at multiple homes across Benton and Washington counties. Her harrowing account exposes a calculated and prolonged pattern of cruelty, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Bentonville Police Department. The girl, whose identity and age remain undisclosed for privacy, said she survived on just one Pop-Tart and a glass of water per week, and was forced to sleep in a bathtub, without a pillow or blanket because she did not have her own bedroom. When she broke her leg, Daniel and Annie Caler allegedly refused to take her to the hospital, leaving her to heal without medical care. The alleged abuse began in 2020 and continued until March 2023, when the final sexual assault occurred. It was not clear how the victim was related to the suspects. She told police that Daniel raped her in at least four different locations. In several of those instances, she screamed 'no' and begged him to stop. Annie Caler allegedly witnessed at least two of the assaults - once walking in on an attack and being told by Daniel to 'get out,' while another time, after hearing the girl's screams, pulling her from the living room of the home and fleeing outside with her. 'I will kill her if she tells anyone,' Daniel is alleged to have said to Annie after the rape incident, per the affidavit seen by 5News. But her intervention did not mark the end of the nightmare. According to the report, Annie had previously ignored other instances and even took part in the broader abuse, leaving her just as culpable in the eyes of the law. The girl also described being beaten, stabbed in the neck with a fork, and told by Annie: 'I hope you die.' The stabbing, she said, came after she failed to do the dishes 'correctly.' There was physical abuse too which saw the victim being pushed into walls, being punched and kicked. If the sexual and physical abuse weren't horrific enough, investigators say the Calers also exposed the victim to a cocktail of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone, and others. The girl told officers she repeatedly said she didn't want to try the drugs, but Annie "forced her to snort the drugs at least four times." The couple, who used to both work as corrections officers, also allegedly made her participate in drug deals, using her to deliver drugs to other users. The girl told authorities that fear had kept her silent. After witnessing Daniel's threats to Annie - including a moment when he allegedly told her he would 'kill her' if she said anything - the girl internalized her terror. "This statement made by Daniel scared [the victim] and this is why she never told anyone what was happening to her until now," the document states. But eventually, the guilt and trauma became too much to bear. In April 2025, she confided in a school counselor, who immediately involved a school resource officer, setting the wheels of justice in motion. 'I couldn't live with the guilt anymore. I thought it was my fault. But now I know I'm safe and have people who will protect me,' the girl explained. Police swiftly obtained arrest warrants for both Daniel and Annie Caler. Both were taken into custody and booked into the Benton County Detention Center, where they are being held on bonds of $750,000 and $500,000, respectively. Both have been assigned public defenders and are due in court next month. Daniel Caler faces a staggering list of charges, including rape, sexual assault, permitting child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Annie has also been charged with permitting child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, but faces additional charges of battery, terroristic threats and introduction of a controlled substance into another body, according to the records. Authorities have not confirmed the nature of the couple's relationship to the victim, nor why the abuse went undetected for so long. But community members and advocates are demanding answers - and accountability. The girl also saw Daniel make threats to Annie - including a moment when he allegedly told her he would 'kill her' if she said anything The case has drawn comparisons to other high-profile abuse cases in recent years, but few are as gruesome and depraved in detail. The victim's statement, calm, articulate, and emotionally gut-wrenching, has become the backbone of the investigation. The Arkansas Department of Human Services has not yet commented on whether the girl had prior involvement with the child welfare system, but multiple agencies are now reviewing the case. The Bentonville Police Department said the investigation is ongoing and has urged anyone with further information to come forward.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Couple accused of sexually abusing teenager, forcing her to take drugs and feeding her ‘one Pop Tart a week'
An Arkansas couple has been accused of the long-term abuse of a teenage girl, where she was allegedly repeatedly raped and beaten, surviving on one Pop Tart a week. Daniel and Annie Caler of Benton County were arrested on May 9 after the victim came forward to confide in her school counselor in April following years of alleged abuse. She told police that the couple forced her to take drugs, sleep in the bath without a blanket or pillow and only provided her with one glass of water per week. The relationship between the Calers and the victim was not immediately clear. Daniel Caler, 34, is accused of raping the victim for three years between August 2020 and March 2023, according to a Bentonville police probable cause affidavit, obtained by KNWA. On one occasion, Annie Caler, 28, walked in on the victim allegedly being raped by Daniel Caler, the affidavit said. Daniel Caler threatened to kill Annie Caler if she reported the rape, according to the affidavit. During an alleged rape in March 2023, Annie Caler intervened and ran outside with the victim. According to the affidavit, this was the last time the victim was raped by Daniel Caler. The victim recalled a violent incident where Annie Caler stabbed her in the neck with a fork because she 'didn't do the dishes correctly,' according to the affidavit. Annie Caler allegedly told the victim afterward: 'I hope you die.' The couple allegedly forced the victim to take a number of drugs over the years, including fentanyl, cocaine, methadone and methamphetamine. The victim told Annie Caler that she did not want to take the drugs, the affidavit said, but was 'forced' to 'snort the drugs at least four times.' Investigators also said that the victim told them about an incident where she broke her leg but the couple refused to take her to the hospital. The victim told police that she finally came forward about the abuse because 'she couldn't live with the guilt thinking it was her fault anymore.' The couple is being held in the Benton County Detention Center. Daniel Caler has been charged with rape, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a minor, terroristic threatening, and permitting abuse of a minor. Annie Caler has been charged with permitting the abuse of a minor, introduction of a controlled substance into the body of another person, terroristic threatening, battery, and endangering the welfare of a minor.
