EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An El Paso couple was arrested for charges in a four-count federal indictment related to alleged child abuse, according to the United States Attorney from the Western District of Texas.
The US Attorney’s Office says Cecilia Stepaniak, 34, and Coreydon Stepaniak, 34, 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 from April 2019 to February 2024.
The US Attorney’s Office says Cecilia Stepaniak and Coreydon Stepaniak falsely reported to a medical care provider that the child was removed from school for bullying elementary school children. The couple also dangerously restricted the child’s food intake; hit the child with a cell phone charging cable; held a sharp kitchen knife to the child’s throat; kicked the child while on the ground; locked the child in a dark closet; confined the child to the garage of their Fort Bliss residence; and forced the child to perform calisthenics exercises multiple times a day for extended periods of time.
Cecilia Stepaniak and Coreydon Stepaniak are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit injury to a child, one count of injury to a child, one count of child endangerment, and one count of child abandonment.
If convicted, they each face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy charge; a minimum of 180 days up to two years for the injury to a child charge; and a minimum of two years to 20 years for the endangerment and abandonment charges, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
The FBI and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the case.
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