Staff Reports
TAOS, N.M. — After a former Taos kindergarten teacher and his wife went to prison for child abuse, the victims of the case sued the Children, Youth, and Families Department of New Mexico for not protecting them. Now, the CYFD is paying more than a million dollars to settle the case.
“The case in itself is a horrific case,” Undersheriff Steve Miera, Taos County Sheriff’s Office’s Undersheriff Steve Miera told KRQE News Aug. 18.
Cory and Stephanie Valdez both went to prison, accused of mistreating two adopted children in 2021.
In 2022, the guardians of the two victims sued CYFD, saying the department neglected the children’s safety. According to the lawsuit, CYFD had received a report from the children about physical abuse and “inappropriate discipline” in the Valdez home before the kids were placed. Despite these reports, the lawsuit said CYFD continued with the adoption process.
The lawsuit said CYFD also closed another investigation in January 2020, despite reports the couple was hoarding food from the kids. On Christmas that same year, one of the children ran to a neighbor’s house wearing only a paper bag, covered in bruises, and said he was tired of standing in the cold.
The sheriff’s office was called, and the 12-yr-old was hospitalized, later diagnosed with malnutrition and Refeeding Syndrome. The boy told investigators he was forced to use the bathroom in a pickle jar, drink water out of the toilet, and was placed in a trash can filled with snow. Meanwhile, the 13-year-old sister told investigators she was forced to take a cold shower with her clothes on and dry in her bedroom. She also said Cory Valdez sexually abused her more times than she can remember.
Now, CYFD has agreed to pay a total of $1.4 million, to be split evenly among the two young victims.
“CYFD assesses each lawsuit individually based on the facts and the risk of taking it through the trial process,” the department said in a statement. “The department depends on the advice of outside counsel and the risk management division to determine the appropriate course of action. In this particular case, the department determined after that assessment that it was appropriate to settle the matter ahead of trial.”
The department said they wouldn’t admit to fault in the settlements.
