A husband and wife accused of isolating and hiding their two adult children are facing a long list of felony charges in Bowie County, including sexual assault of a child, kidnapping and injury to a child.
William Clarence Ashcraft, 67, and his wife, Mildred Ann Malalpelli, 66, who is also known as Ann Aguilar, were in court on Thursday for arraignment on new charges of aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, sexual assault, sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child. The couple entered not guilty pleas to the charges at separate hearings.
The accused husband and wife pleaded not guilty last year to multiple counts of injury to a child or disabled individual, sexual assault and indecency. Malapelli allegedly knew that her daughter was being sexually abused by Ashcraft and did nothing to protect her, according to court filings.
Ashcraft allegedly abused the daughter beginning when she was 11 though much of the misconduct reportedly occurred in other jurisdictions before the couple moved to Bowie County in 2015.
The alleged victims were allegedly denied proper medical care, suffered from inadequate nutrition, were not allowed to attend school, and were not allowed to go outside, according to records. Some of the living quarters the family shared were reportedly small and confined spaces in which Ashcraft would sexually abuse the daughter in front of her brother and with Malapelli’s knowledge.
Law enforcement executed a search of a dilapidated house on 26th Street in Texarkana, Texas, in May 2021 after the daughter made contact with a police officer. The couple has been in custody since their arrests on May 5, 2021.
Both face the possibility of life in prison. The cases are set for trial in September.
