A Santa Cruz man is facing child abuse charges for allegedly beating his three nieces and nephews, including pushing one into a running fan.
New Mexico State Police Officer Matthew Bustos charged James Valdez, 26, with three counts of child abuse and one count each of battery against a household member for allegedly attacking his grandfather, and criminal damage to property under $1,000, for breaking his grandmother’s phone.
Bustos issued a summons on April 22 for Valdez to appear in court on the charges, as he had already left the house by the time Bustos arrived at the scene, he wrote in a criminal complaint for the charges.
Valdez was set to appear in Rio Arriba Magistrate Court for the first time on May 12.
The mother of the three children that were hit called State Police dispatchers the morning of April 6 to ask for a welfare check on her four children (Valdez is accused of beating three of them) after the children’s father dropped them at her parents’ house in Alcalde, and then the children started texting her that their uncle was beating them, Bustos wrote in a criminal complaint.
“(Mother) advised she became upset due to (father) knowing her parent’s living conditions are bad and how she does not want James near any of her children as James resides with (parents),” he wrote.
She called her father who put her on speaker phone. Valdez got upset when she yelled at their younger brother, JV, under age 18, who has been living with his mother because the conditions at their parents’ house are so bad, Bustos wrote.
“Once James became upset, James started indicating he was going to cause harm to (mother’s) children, as James was assuming (mother) was causing some sort of harm towards JV,” Bustos wrote.
She showed Bustos texts from her children, writing, “Mom he just hit us,” “He hit JV and me and DV,” “He kicked JV in the face,” and “Tackled DV and me,” he wrote.
The children told Bustos that Valdez kicked one in the head and then punched him, another said he was pushed into a portable fan and a third was kicked in the face, Bustos wrote.
In a forensic interview in Taos, the children told the interviewer that Valdez hurt three of them, broke their grandmother’s cellphone and pushed his father, he wrote.
“It is noted, both (parents) described James of having a narcotic addiction (fentanyl) and also may suffer with a mental health disorder,” Bustos wrote.
After consulting with the on-all prosecutor, Bustos issued the summons on the child abuse, battery and criminal damage charges, he wrote.