SANTA FE –A sheriff in New Mexico says new child abuse charges that can carry a penalty of life in prison have been filed against the father and stepmother of a 3-year-old boy whose body was found at a ramshackle compound.

Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe announced Friday that Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and his wife by Muslim faith Jany Leveille have been charged with child abuse resulting in death and conspiracy to commit child abuse.

Siraj Ibn Wahhaj is the father of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, whose remains were discovered inside an underground tunnel at a compound near the Colorado state line.

The defendants were among five adults and 11 children found living in squalor during an Aug. 3 raid on the compound.

An attorney for Leveille says she has not seen the charges and her client maintains her innocence. A lawyer for Siraj Ibn Wahhaj could not be immediately reached.