DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines couple has been arrested for alleged abuse and neglect of two of the children in their home after police say they withheld food – leading to one of the children being diagnosed with chronic malnutrition.

Felipe Saldana, 35, and Isabel Saldana Valdez, 36, are each charged with two counts of neglect or abandonment of dependent person, two counts of child endangerment-serious injury, and two counts of child endangerment.

Saldana was booked into the Polk County Jail early Wednesday morning and has already bonded out. Saldana Valdez was booked into the Polk County Jail shortly before 1:00 a.m. Thursday.

According to online court documents, the pair is accused of abusing two of Saldana’s biological children, ages 12 and 14, over a two-year period. Saldana Valdez is the children’s stepmother and adopted them in 2022.

A search warrant application filed in June 2024 for the family’s home in the 2600 block of Madison Avenue revealed the Iowa Department of Health & Human Services reported concerns about abuse/neglect of the children to the Des Moines Police Department. It said there were other children in the home, but they were allowed to attend public school while the alleged victims were home-schooled.

Criminal complaints filed in the case say both children have been “on punishment” for about two years. They weren’t allowed out of bed in the morning without permission from Saldana or Saldana Valdez and were forced to sit at the table for hours writing sentences. The documents say food was withheld until late in the day until their punishment was complete, or sometimes they were forced to go the entire day without eating. They were also expected to complete extensive household chores.

The 12-year-old, A.S., had a 45% decrease in his growth chart and lost almost 17 pounds over a six-month period according to the criminal complaint. The search warrant application said DHHS told police A.S. was diagnosed with chronic malnutrition. The 14-year-old, F.S., had a decline in his growth chart from 37% to 25% over a seven-month period. After medical evaluations, the DHHS said both children were considered underweight.

The criminal complaints said the malnourishment could affect the long-term growth and development of the children and the effects may be permanent.

The children told police they were rarely allowed to play with the other children in the home and not allowed to watch TV. One of the children said it had been months since he had been allowed outside to play.

Felipe Saldana’s preliminary hearing has been scheduled for October 14th. Online court records for Isabel Saldana Valdez do not yet list a date for a preliminary hearing.