Pair charged with child abuse
State says it’s not the first time there have been similar allegations
After a 5-year-old boy told teachers at a South Valley elementary school Thursday that his stomach hurt because his mother had thrown a full cup of water at his chest, deputies found his family living in squalor, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
His parents, Jayme Morgan, 35, and Marlon Smith, 37, were arrested and charged with abandonment or abuse of a child.
A state agency says it’s not the first time there have been allegations of abuse or neglect against the pair.
An investigator with the Children Youth and Families Department told Bernalillo County deputies that the parents had “approximately 17 CYFD referrals reporting potential child neglect and/or abuse within the past three years,” according to the complaint. And CYFD told deputies the boy had just been returned to the parents in March after a previous allegation of abuse and neglect.
Henry Varela, a CYFD spokesman, confirmed the family had a history with the agency dating back to 2009 but he could not say how many times CYFD had been called. He could not answer any specific questions about the family or the child due to confidentiality restrictions in New Mexico’s Children’s Code, so it’s unclear what the previous reports alleged.
Varela said the boy was taken into CYFD custody and is now staying with a relative.
The boy had told school personnel and the CYFD investigator that his parents had been fighting and throwing things at each other “all night” and he was caught in the exchange. He said a puzzle struck him in the head and a cup hit him in the stomach.
When the CYFD investigator and deputies visited the family’s mobile home on Isleta SW, they found the home didn’t have electricity. They found the food in the refrigerator was spoiled, the living room was covered with broken glass, and there was a strong mold smell throughout the home, according to the complaint.