2 plead not guilty in death of toddler at N.M. compound

TAOS, N.M. — The father of a 3-year-old boy found dead in a filthy New Mexico compound this month pleaded not guilty Wednesday to new charges of child abuse resulting in death as lesser charges were dismissed against him and other members of his extended family because prosecutors missed a deadline.

The dead boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and his partner, Jany Leveille, who is charged with the same crime, remained silent as pleas were entered on their behalf. The charges could carry life sentences in the death of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj.

Their pleas followed a decision by a judge to dismiss initial childneglect charges against them. Another judge made the same decision in the cases of the other three defendants earlier Wednesday.

The five were arrested this month at a remote desert compound where 11 children were found living in filth, and the body of the 3-year-old boy was discovered.

Authorities say Wahhaj and Leveille denied the boy proper medicine and health care during a religious ritual in December 2017 aimed at casting out demonic spirits. The boy died during the ritual, officials say.

Prosecutors had pressed to keep the group behind bars and planned to present new evidence of an anti-government plot and talk of jihad and martyrdom among some members of the extended Muslim family.

Defense attorneys say their clients have no record of criminal convictions and pose no risk to the public. Federal immigration authorities say Leveille, a native of Haiti, has been in the United States illegally for 20 years after overstaying a visitor visa.

In the case of the other three defendants, a judge ruled they could be released within a week, depending on what action prosecutors take. Judge Emilio Chavez ruled Wednesday that he had no discretion to keep the three defendants in custody since prosecutors missed a 10- day limit for an evidentiary hearing to establish probable cause for the neglect charges.

Prosecutors could still seek an indictment from a grand jury.

Abdul-ghani’s mother reported the boy missing last year from Jonesboro, Georgia, after Siraj Ibn Wahhaj said he was taking the child to a park and didn’t return. Forensic medical investigators have not yet identified the cause of the boy’s death.