Calls for change in the handling of child abuse cases have sparked families and prosecutors to push for tougher punishment. 

This comes following court proceedings last week for the death of Jeremiah Valencia, a 13-year-old fatally beaten four years ago in Nambe, according to a report by KOB4.

“If there's something that needs to change, it is the legislature looking at child abuse resulting in death and not drawing a distinction based on the age of a child,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Padgett Macias told KOB4. “Jeremiah was 13 years old when this happened, therefore the total possible penalty for that crime was 18 years. If Jeremiah had been under the age of 13 it would have been a potential 30 years. That's a huge distinction and disparity based on the age of children.”

In 2018, a bill was introduced to legislation that would increase penalties in intentional child abuse cases resulting in death, KOB4 reports. While the bill passed with a 62-2 vote in the House, it later died in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On Oct. 15, Jordan Nunez was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the role he played in Valencia’s death. While it was Nunez's father, Thomas Ferguson, who was directly responsible for the abuse, Nunez himself, who was 19 at the time, failed to report the abuse, permitting it to continue. 

Valencia’s aunt, Celine Miera, told KOB4 the loss could have been prevented had someone just said something about the abuse going on.