Several Options Exist For Reporting Child Abuse

An apparent victim of child abuse, a 2-month-old from Las Cruces never lived to take her first steps. Before she died, neighbors told ABC-7 they suspected something was wrong ? the question now, could someone have saved her life.

Neighbors told ABC-7 they heard horrific screams from baby Jade ? the child police said was abused by her mother 17-year-old Diana Goenaga ? days before she was hospitalized and placed on life support.

But because the screams were behind closed doors, and neighbors said they did not physically witness any abuse, nothing was done to try and save the little girl?s life.

“Screaming, yelling, some kind of physical struggle,” Branden Ibarra, a neighbor, said.

Frightening sounds described by Ibarra who said he heard baby Jade from her mother?s apartment just a few days before she died from what police categorized as a case of ?Shaken Baby Syndrome.?

“All I remember is that little baby crying bloody murder, screaming an ugly scream,? Ibarra said. ?And babies have distinct types of cries. That was just terrifying, but now I know why – she was apparently abused.”

Ibarra said he heard but never saw the abuse – likely the reason he chose not to intervene. But New Mexico state law mandates those frightening sounds Ibarra said he heard were more than enough to report.

“Sometimes people are afraid. They don’t want to get involved with neighbors or start trouble,? Amy Orlando, Deputy District Attorney of Dona Ana County, said. ?So the law will protect people, and say, ?you are ordered, and you shall, and you must report any suspicion of child abuse.?”

Additional resources include help centers like the Family Pride Crisis Nursery.

“We’re definitely a preventative service so there’s always that regret when you hear those horrific stories of children being abused in our community,” Cory Lucas, Director of the Family Pride Crisis Nursery Program, said.

The Nursery is a place where parents who are at wits end or fearful of harming their children can seek help. A place that could have saved baby Jade.

“That’s the first step in preventing something horrific happening.”

For up to 3 days, parents can drop off their children to be looked after by licensed home providers.

“We’re here for help. We’re not here to turn them in,” Lucas said.

Failure to report child abuse is a misdemeanor in New Mexico.

Police said there had been no prior reports of suspected abuse at Goenaga?s residence.

Goenaga is being held in El Paso without bond.

For more information about the Family Pride Crisis Nursery Program, click on the ?Hot Button? on the KVIA.com Homepage.