A Fort Bliss soldier and his wife have been arrested on suspicion of child abuse, including allegations that they hit a girl with a cellphone charging cord, kicked her, denied her food and held a knife to her throat, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Cecilia Stepaniak, 34, and Coreydon Stepaniak, 34, from April 2019 through February 2024 allegedly engaged in conduct that placed a child under the age of 15 in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, and physical or mental impairment.
The indictment alleges acts including falsely reporting to a health care provider that the minor victim was expelled from school for bullying elementary school children; dangerously restricting the minor victim’s food intake; hitting the minor victim with a cell phone charging cord; holding a sharp kitchen knife to the minor victim’s throat; kicking the minor victim while on the ground; locking the minor victim in a dark closet; confining the minor victim to the garage of his Fort Bliss residence; and forcing the minor victim to perform calisthenics exercises multiple times a day for extended periods of time.
If convicted, each faces up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge; a minimum of 180 days to two years on the injury to a child charge; and a minimum of two years to 20 years on the endangerment and abandonment charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
[email protected]
#Soldier #wife #arrested #hitting #kicking #denying #food #girl
