When Jordan Stephenson’s phone lit up with a call from an unknown number while she was at work, she did what so many others do: let it ring.
But when the caller persisted after several ignored calls, the young mother answered and found herself speaking to an FBI agent.
What happened next plunged 30-year-old Jordan into an unimaginable nightmare, as the officer explained that he was at her home in Forsyth County, North Carolina, executing a search warrant for “internet activity.”
Panicked and confused, Jordan left her job as a home caregiver and made the 10-minute drive across town to get home, where she was greeted by FBI agents who led her inside.
There she learned that her partner Ty had made and shared images of child sex abuse of their two-year-old daughter.
Jordan Stephenson’s world came crashing down when an FBI agent arrived at her home to arrest her partner, Ty
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Jordan, 30, said his sentencing hearing last week was one of the hardest days of her life
It took a while for Jordan to get a clear picture of what was happening. She saw her daughter, “reported she was doing well” and then saw “officers in every room of my house, going through all of our belongings.”
Jordan told DailyMail.com about Ty’s vile crimes and the horror of learning the truth about her daughter’s biological father: “I had a panic attack.”
“They told me Ty had left. I already had a panic attack, but then it got worse. I remember an officer – a woman – helping to hold me up as we walked up the stairs.”
“They finally asked me if I knew anything about illegal internet activity involving children,” she said.
“I almost fell over.”
Ty Stephenson was taken into custody in August 2023, charged with manufacturing, possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material
Jordan said officers continued to encourage her to “sit down and drink water,” but she found herself pacing uncontrollably around her home, unable to sit still or truly process the information she had received.
‘I told him I had no idea what he was talking about. He replied very nonchalantly, ‘No, we know you didn’t know about it’ and then explained to me that Ty was arrested for CSAM and that the victim was our daughter.”
Jordan vaguely remembers feeling “bewildered” and wondering if they had made a mistake.
Even at the scene, FBI agents assured her there was no mistake. They had absolute confidence in their information.
“I honestly can’t even describe the disbelief,” Jordan said. ‘It wasn’t denial, I never thought ‘oh, he’s innocent’, it was more disbelief at the whole situation, at what was going on.
“It seemed surreal but real at the same time.”
His victim was the couple’s two-year-old daughter. Ty was the little girl’s biological father and Jordan thought he was the love of her life
Last week, Ty was sentenced to 35 years in prison plus a lifetime of supervised release after his release.
He accepted a plea deal that reduced six charges to just two: one count of production and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material.
Ty had quit his job two months before his arrest and Jordan worked as much as she could to support her family. Instead of paying for childcare with one paycheck, Ty became their daughter’s primary caregiver during the days Jordan worked.
According to the original indictment, the first report of Ty’s abuse was in February 2023, followed by further crimes in June and August of that year.
“They picked him up, took him to jail and he stayed with me until one of my bosses came to my house to help me,” Jordan said.
Jordan had just arrived in North Carolina at the time of Ty’s arrest and knew no one except her two bosses.
“I still have flashbacks to today,” she said.
Ty was sentenced to 35 years in prison plus a lifetime of supervised release upon his release, after accepting a plea deal that reduced six charges to just two: one count of production and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material.
According to the original indictment, the first report of Ty’s abuse was in February 2023, followed by further crimes in June and August of that year.
Trying to rebuild
Jordan has detailed to DailyMail.com how her life was destroyed by Ty’s vile crimes.
She and her now three-year-old daughter are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and rebuild.
Ty was the little girl’s biological father and Jordan thought he was the love of her life.
What makes the whole horrific ordeal even worse is that Jordan and her daughter are “locked in this apartment where everything took place.”
Jordan simply doesn’t have the finances to move.
She is using all her resources to ensure that her daughter gets the treatment and help she needs to process the severity of the situation and move on.
The mother of one has one GoFundMe to stay afloat, noting that while his arrest is a blessing, it has also caused enormous financial pressure.
“I have fought all my life to get her the help, safety, security and stability she needs,” Jordan said.
“She has a great therapist, both of us do. I have used social media in an attempt to save us from losing all the things that meet our basic needs.
‘We still have a long road ahead of us.’
Ty had quit his job two months before his arrest and Jordan worked as much as she could to support her family. Instead of paying for childcare with one paycheck, Ty became their daughter’s primary caregiver during the days Jordan worked