Child abuser sentenced to 9 years
By Liam Easley
A 42-year-old woman was sentenced to 9 years in prison by a Taos County judge on Thursday (Aug. 3) for her part in the physical and mental abuse of her two adopted children.
Stephanie Valdez, 42, was convicted on charges of second-degree child abuse, along with eight additional third-degree counts of child abuse.
Valdez was accused of continued abuse of two of her adopted children, identified only as siblings John Doe and Jane Doe. According to a statement written by Jane Doe and presented to the court on Thursday, the two children were subjected to various forms of punishment and harassment by both their adoptive parents. She said John Doe was locked in his room for the most part, without a mattress and clothes, with only a pickle jar in which to relieve himself. His room even had an alarm system installed, the boy's sister said, so he couldn’t leave lest it sound.
According to the statement, the siblings were punished in various ways, but a core narrative in the case took place on Christmas Day. Jane Doe noted that they were punished for eating sweets. After being caught, the siblings were beaten; John had a pot of coffee spilled over him before being tossed into a garbage can.
Cory Valdez, the adoptive father, then began shoveling snow over the boy. When he had a window of opportunity, the boy fled to their neighbor, who called the police. Upon learning that law enforcement would arrive, Cory and Stephanie both went into the home to return John Does’ mattress and clothes in an effort to make the space look lived-in.
“I don’t think that this case I’ll ever forget about,” Marvin Armijo, the detective assigned to the case, said. “Seeing that little boy really broke my heart. Seeing the way the household was, seeing the alarm, seeing the buckets that were in those rooms was just a real eye-opener. These kids are innocent. They shouldn’t have to go through that.”
John Doe was taken to the hospital; he was in such a state that medics hesitated to feed him out of fear his body would reject food. Trevino brought photos of the boy to court to show his malnourished state.
“If you were to be able to see him now, there’s a significant change in just his physical appearance,” Trevino told the judge. “He was able to finally put on some weight, he was immediately removed from the home, and treatment has been moved from a couple different places due to his inability to adjust and to have trust.”
As family members addressed the court, Rena Valdez, another adopted daughter of Stephanie Valdez, spoke in support of her mother. The 19-year-old gave a statement that placed emphasis on her mother's depression and generally unwell mental state that resulted from a string of tragedies, including multiple family suicides.
Prosecutor Sherri Trevino requested the court hand down a maximum sentence of 18 years, but 8th Judicial District Judge Jeffrey Shannon sentenced Stephanie Valdez to 9 years in prison, with 9 years suspended, along with 5 years probation and a 2-year parole period. While Trevino saw this as unforgivable, Shannon’s concerns lay with recidivism.
“I have hundreds of cases,” Shannon said. “I have a couple of cases involving a woman in Raton. She’s got bad opioid abuse disorder, constantly in and out of jail. So, I look her up in the system, and I find out her stepfather’s in prison for raping her about 20 years ago, which gave me some sense of trauma she had been through and why she had a problem of substance abuse. And even though she’s in her 30s, the trauma’s still there. Healing takes time; sometimes healing is not complete.
“I don’t want you to end up, as we say, in the system,” he told Stephanie Valdez. “Unfortunately, as time passes, we forget that people were victims, and we begin to treat them without an understanding of what they’ve been through. So it’s real important that you find strength the appropriate way, that you face the demons that are haunting you, so that the two of you find recovery in a positive way. I hope that you and your brother find peace with the world, and I hope you find peace with yourself.”
According to Rena Valdez, her mother has improved over the past two years, and has been present at important events for both her biological daughter and Rena. Stephanie is also in weekly therapy sessions, she noted.
“Every parent wants their children to be better than what they were or have, and I am no exception,” Stephanie said. “I want my daughters to take ownership of their wrongdoings, not follow my mistakes.”
The case was handed over to Shannon after it was determined that 8th Judicial District Judge Emilio Chavez had an unspecified conflict with the case. Regardless, he sentenced Cory Valdez, the adoptive father and co-defendant to 39 years in prison, not only for a list of child abuse counts but also for the sexual abuse of Jane Doe.