2 women arrested in alleged child abuse case in New Mexico

TEXICO, N.M. (AP) — Two women in eastern New Mexico have been arrested for allegedly beating children in their care and chaining them to their beds to deny them food, authorities said.

Documents filed in Curry County Magistrate Court show 37-year-old Jayme L. Kushman and 29-year-old Jaime Kay Sena were both taken into custody Monday on 21 counts of suspected child abuse plus obstructing an investigation of child abuse.

It was unclear Tuesday if either woman has a lawyer yet who can speak on their behalf.

Authorities said children between the ages of 5 and 14 were living in with Kushman and Sena in a Texico home near the Texas border.

The children included Sena’s kids, Kushman’s family members and at least one foster child.

New Mexico State Police investigators say they uncovered videos of some of the children being chained by the ankles to their beds, allegedly to keep them from taking food from the kitchen when they were hungry.

Police said they also found filthy conditions in the home including no running water, a toilet backed up with human waste and bedrooms smelling of urine.

The New Mexico Child, Youth and Families Department alerted police about a possible child abuse case on July 22 and that began an investigation that resulted in the arrests.