By David Lohr

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March 27, 2007

WEBSTER, Fla.  (Crime Library)  —  "Well, I'm 18, I have a husband, a two-year-old daughter, and a eight week old son. I love my husband; he's the only man for me, and we are very happy." This is how 18-year-old Hannah Michelle Cassels described herself in her MySpace profile. Unfortunately for Hannah, she and her husband, 23-year-old Corey James Cassels, allegedly took a forbidden path during their journey together through life, and now their happiness has been shattered. Two lives are in ruin, notwithstanding their two children and the possible horrors to which they were subjected along the way.

On March 23, the Tampa FBI with assistance from the Sumter County Sheriff's Department served a search warrant on the Cassels' singlewide mobile home at 4941 SW 125th Road in Webster as part of a child pornography investigation. While authorities have not commented on the probable cause for the warrant, they described what they found when they entered the residence.

According to police reports, the mobile home was filthy and littered with debris. In the kitchen, dirty dishes and half-eaten food cluttered the floors and counters. The overpowering stench of rotten and spoiled meat not only permeated the air, but it also acted like a lure, attracting more flies than a Mississippi cow pie.  Intertwined with the mess were multiple pornographic magazines haphazardly strewn about the house. 

While the state of the home was shocking in itself, officers on the scene were even more horrified by the condition of the couple's children, ten-month-old Corey Jr. and three-year-old Rachel.  According to the report, both children were covered in dirt. As if that was not bad enough, the walls of the infant's nursery, which should have been decorated with racecars and teddy bears, were allegedly plastered with multiple pinup posters of naked women. Investigators also made note of several knives they found throughout the house easily within reach of the children.

"It was a mess," Lt. Bobby Caruthers told the Orlando Sentinel Friday. "The best way to describe it was total filth. What made it worse was two young children were living in the home."

The children were put in the custody of the Department of Children and Families, and both parents were arrested and charged with child abuse. The Cassels' computer was also seized during the search. 

Calls to the Sumter County Sheriff's Department were deferred to the Tampa FBI yesterday, and calls to that agency were not immediately returned; however, a source close to the investigation said that federal charges are pending.

Hannah's MySpace profile was last logged into on March 20. She lists herself as a proud parent and a stay-at-home mom. In light of her arrest, her self-descriptions are obviously superficial. There are several photos of her family on the profile; however, other parts of it are peppered with photos of Playboy Bunnies and scantly clad women. 

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Contact  David Lohr at           crimewriter74@hughes.net

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