ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A Bernalillo County grand jury on Wednesday indicted an Albuquerque man on numerous charges related to a deadly child abuse case that has prompted major reforms in the way child-abuse cases are investigated in New Mexico.
Stephen Casaus, the stepfather of 9-year-old Omaree Varela, is facing six counts of child abuse, two counts of bribery of a witness and one count of tampering with evidence. He was also indicted in an unrelated drug-trafficking case. It wasn’t immediately clear if Casaus had been assigned an attorney.
Omaree Varela was found dead at his family’s home on Dec. 27. Police say he was kicked to death by his mother, Synthia Varela-Casaus. She has pleaded not guilty to more than 20 charges related to the boy’s death.
Prosecutors allege Casaus, 41, allowed the boy to be placed in a situation that December day that ultimately resulted in the child’s death. They say Casaus also acted with reckless disregard for the boy’s safety and health in the weeks leading up to the death, resulting in the child being beaten, burned, bitten and cut.
The case set off a firestorm of criticism against Albuquerque police and the state Children, Youth and Families Department for not removing the boy from his home after receiving earlier reports of abuse. It also prompted a flurry of legislation aimed at improving the state’s child welfare system.
Police were first called to a mobile phone store in 2012 after getting reports that the boy had been slapped. Police officers and investigators with the child welfare agency conducted interviews and made a home visit, but they couldn’t find any evidence of abuse.
About six months later, two officers went to the boy’s home in response to a 911 call in which a dispatcher overheard threatening, profane and abusive comments. The officers didn’t file a report.
The boy had also disclosed previous abuse to school officials about a year before his death. That report was investigated by the Children, Youth and Families Department, but officials there said they didn’t have any active cases involving the family at the time of the boy’s death.
Gov. Susana Martinez has since unveiled a series of policy changes and directives to keep cases such as Omaree Varela’s from falling through the cracks. Four Albuquerque police officers were also disciplined and a fifth was fired for how the officers handled reports of abuse involving the Varela family.
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