Grand jury indicts 2 Strafford women, part of a throuple, for child sexual abuse images

Two Strafford women, who were a part of a 'throuple,' were indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday for sexually abusing two children to produce child sex abuse images.

Mallory Bunch, 40, and Jessica Pickett, 34, were charged in a five-count indictment that alleges the two participated in a conspiracy to sexually abuse two minor victims to produce the abuse content from September 2016 to May 2024 when authorities apprehended the pair. Both of the victims were under 16 years of age.

The conspiracy also involved Mallory Bunch's husband Thomas Bunch. Thomas Bunch died June 15 at the age of 46, according to a Midwest Cremation and Funeral Services obituary. However, Thomas Bunch had filed for divorce in February with proceedings still ongoing as of June 7. The Bunches had two minor children together.

All three had been detained and questioned upon Webster County Sheriff's Office receiving information of the abuse and an audio recording of Mallory Bunch talking about the sexual abuse. According to a probable cause document, Pickett said she had been in a polyamorous relationship with the Bunches for roughly ten years.

According to court documents, Mallory Bunch used her cell phone to record sexual abuse of a child at the request of Thomas Bunch and sent him the videos via text. Pickett is also charged with using another child victim to produce child abuse images and, according to an affidavit, sharing an iCloud link that contained 367 images and two videos of sexual activity between the three adults with the first victim.

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Another victim who is now an adult, according to an initial probable cause statement against Pickett, reported suffering physical abuse from Thomas Bunch when he resided with the Bunches and was sexually assaulted by Pickett once he turned 14 between 20 to 30 times.

Pickett is currently being held at Greene County Jail with no bond. Mallory Bunch is being held at Webster County Jail.

Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at [email protected].