Walla Walla man brutally beat young children, raped girl, court documents say

David Mann by David Mann

Stephan Cleveland

This story contains disturbing details.

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – A Walla Walla man accused of brutally beating two young girls is now charged with sexually assaulting one of them.

Stephan Cleveland, 22, and his girlfriend Jenean Lucero, 25, were arrested May 7 on charges of first-degree assault of a child. Cleveland is a level three sex offender who was convicted of second-degree rape of a child as a teenager in 2014.

A probable cause affidavit says:

The girls, ages 2 and 4, were brought to Providence St. Mary’s Hospital on May 6 with obvious injuries on their bodies. The younger girl had a broken femur and two broken bones in her right forearm.

Due to the severity of her injuries, she was flown by helicopter to Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane.

Lucero said the girls were injured when a metal rack that holds toys fell on them. She told police she was home alone with them at her apartment on East Sumach Street at the time.

During an investigation, Walla Walla police determined that the metal rack was made of “very light, inexpensive material that could not have caused the injuries.”

Officers interviewed one of the girls, who said Lucero was not home alone and that Cleveland was with her when the injuries happened.

The girl told investigators the couple became upset when the shelf fell over, and both Lucero and Cleveland spanked her. She said she also saw Cleveland hurt the other girl.

In a separate incident, Cleveland allegedly covered one of the girls’ mouth and nose with his hand to prevent her from breathing because he was upset that she took his seat.

On May 9, two days after the couple was arrested, the 4-year-old was taken to the Walla Walla Clinic for bruising to her face, forehead and back. During a medical examination, clinic staff discovered that she had been sexually assaulted.

When police interviewed the girl on May 22, she told them that Cleveland hurt her by penetrating her with what was described as a sex toy.

Walla Walla Prosecuting Attorney Jim Nagel determined that there was sufficient evidence to charge Cleveland with first-degree rape of a child in addition to the assault charge. His trial is currently scheduled for June 24.

Cleveland is being held in jail on $176,000 bail, according to the Walla Walla County Jail roster. Lucero is being held on $75,000 for the assault charge.

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