A couple from Arkansas allegedly held a girl hostage for years, and even gave her one Pop-Tart a week to live off of, according to the Daily Mail. Authorities arrested 34-year-old Daniel Ray Caler and his wife, 28-year-old Annie Claire Caler, on May 9 for keeping a teenage girl hostage, starving her, and sexually assaulting her, amongst other heinous crimes.
Videos by Suggest
Teenage Girl Subjected To Starvation And Abuse With One Pop-Tart A Week
The young girl revealed to her school counselor what she’d been subjected to for three years. It all began in August 2020, and Daniel committed the majority of these repeated acts of cruelty. She has decided to keep her identity private, and we don’t yet know the girl’s relationship to the couple.
Throughout these three years, she survived only on one Pop-Tart and a glass of water each week. Her sleeping situation was just as bad. The couple forced her to sleep in a bathtub with no pillow or blanket.
Daniel has allegedly sexually assaulted her repeatedly from 2020 to March 2023. The girl told the police that Daniel assaulted her in at least four different locations. This occurred across multiple locations and homes in Benton and Washington counties.
Annie didn’t try to help the girl, either. She allegedly witnessed at least two of the assaults. According to 5News, Daniel reportedly said he would kill Annie if she reported him. This had scared Annie enough not to tell anyone what was happening.
Per the affidavit, the final sexual assault happened in March 2023. David dragged the girl by her hair and assaulted her in the living room. She yelled for help, and Annie allegedly grabbed her from the living room and ran outside.
Wife Just As Responsible For Crimes As Husband
Annie is no hero, though. The victim alleged that Annie had helped beat her and had told her, “I hope you die.” Annie even reportedly stabbed the girl with a fork in the neck after failing to do the dishes “correctly.”
On top of all that, the couple subjected the girl to an array of illicit drugs. This included cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and more. She told the cops that Annie would force her “to snort the drugs at least four times.”
The victim kept silent for years due to fear, as she heard Daniel’s threats to Annie. Finally, in April 2025, she had the courage to confide in her school guidance counselor. The counselor immediately involved a school resource officer and the rest of the authorities.
It didn’t take long for the cops to arrest the couple. They charged Daniel with rape, terroristic threatening, endangering the welfare of a minor, sexual assault, and permitting abuse of a minor. Meanwhile, they charge Annie with giving a controlled substance to another person, permitting minor abuse, terroristic threatening, battery, and endangering the welfare of a minor.
The Calers are in custody in the Benton County Detention Center. Daniel’s bond was set at $750,000, and Annie was given a $500,000 bond.