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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Jacquelyn Schmidt of Albuquerque has been sentenced for child abuse. Her husband, Nicholas Schmidt, a former Albuquerque Police Department officer, is awaiting trial.
The couple became foster parents to a two-year-old boy in 2021, but he was removed from their care after four months.
Doctors noticed severe signs of abuse, including extensive bruising and broken bones.
According to the source, court records Jacquelyn admitted in texts she was struggling as a foster mom.
She claimed the child was self-harming, but she was actually pinching, pushing, and spanking him. Neither parent reported the boy’s injuries to the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department.
Prosecutor Savannah Brandenburg-Koch stated, “From the very beginning, she said things like, ‘I hate this child, I hurt this child, I want to hurt this child.’
She was the adult. Regardless of what her husband did or didn’t do, she should have given the child back and sought help.”
Jacquelyn pled guilty to three counts of child abuse and failure to report child abuse. She received a three-year prison sentence.
Her husband was fired from the Albuquerque Police Department in June 2023 after six years of service.
He has filed an appeal with the department’s Personnel Board. Nicholas pled not guilty to four counts of child abuse and failure to report child abuse.