Taos man arrested on child sexual abuse charges

An Arroyo Hondo man and former kindergarten teacher at Ranchos Elementary School is facing child abuse and criminal sexual penetration charges after being arrested May 5 on a warrant. The Taos County Sheriff’s Office arrested Cory Valdez, 44, after learning he and his wife, Stephanie Valdez, 39, were physically abusing two of their adopted children, and that Cory had sexually abused one of them. The couple has three adopted children and one biological child.

Cory Valdez is facing nine counts of child abuse, one first degree felony, and the rest third degree felonies; one count of criminal sexual penetration of a minor in the first degree; criminal sexual penetration of a minor in the second degree; and criminal sexual contact with a minor in the third degree. Stephanie Valdez is facing the same nine child abuse charges.

The Taos County Sheriff’s Office had been investigating the Valdez’s since last Christmas Day after getting a call from a concerned neighbor about a male child – referred to as ‘JV’ in court documents – who knocked on their door wearing nothing but a trash bag, according to court records. He told the neighbors he had been forced to sleep on the floor and did not want to go back home.

In a safe room interview conducted Jan. 6, 2021, JV made more claims of abuse. He said he was only allowed to eat up to two hot dogs a day, and that he felt seriously underfed. He was taken to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque where he was found to be suffering from malnutrition and “refeeding syndrome.”

Court documents show the Valdez’s

claimed they have had previous problems with JV and that he had run away. At the time of the initial investigation, JV was taken into custody by the New Mexico Children Youth and Families Departments (CYFD).

No charges were filed at the time against the Valdez’s because, according to Taos County Undersheriff Steve Miera, “additional investigation and safe room interviews were required in order to be able to determine if the probable cause threshold could be met.”

As investigators conducted more safe-room interviews with the children, Miera explained they were able to prove probable cause when additional details emerged and led to serious charges for the couple, especially Cory Valdez.

Initially, the claims made by the children were primarily about physical abuse and neglect. JV said his parents made him use the bathroom in a pickle jar, and that he was forced to drink clean water from the toilet because the Valdez’s refused to give him water, according to court documents. He also said he was forced to stand outside, nearly naked, in the winter months.

On March 17, the couple was charged individually with the nine counts of child abuse. In another safe room interview with their adopted daughter – referred to as ‘MV’ in court documents – more heinous aspects of the abuse emerged.

MV went into more detail describing the abuse JV endured, saying he was not only forced to stand outside, but that he was made to stand in a trash can while the Valdez’s threw snow around him. She said her parents would put JV into trash bags with nothing but small underwear on.

On top of describing all of the things her parents would do to her brother JV, she said that she was also forced to take cold showers with all her clothes on, then stand in her room to dry. She said she was also kicked regularly by Stephanie after asking for more food because she was hungry.

MV went on to describe the worst of the abuse, saying on several occasions when no one was home, or people were busy, Cory touched her inappropriately. Court documents said it happened “too many times to remember.”

Armed with this information, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office was able to get a warrant for Cory Valdez and make a swift arrest. He has been in the Taos County Adult Detention Center since then.

Currently, all four of the Valdez’s children, including their one biological child and third adopted child are in the custody of CYFD.

Both Cory and Stephanie’s cases have been bound over to the Eighth Judicial District Court, where they will be prosecuted by District Attorney Marcus Montoya’s office.

Montoya called the charges against Cory Valdez “serious, and that’s why the DA’s office has filed a motion to jail the defendant pending trial. We are thankful for the tireless work of our Law Enforcement Agencies and our victim advocacy groups. This DA’s office is dedicated to protecting our children, most vulnerable and defenseless citizens.”