MUSKOGEE, Okla. (KOTV) — Muskogee police arrested two women in connection with a child abuse investigation. Detectives said the mother and stepmother physically abused a 5-year-old boy for the past several months.
They said his trauma is so severe he’s had two strokes since being hospitalized a month ago.
Muskogee police said what happened was not just abuse but torture, and were shocked when they read the report on the boy’s injuries.
The boy’s mother, Rachel Stevens, and his stepmother, Kayla Jones, didn’t act surprised when they left the court and were greeted by a host of officers and deputies with arrest warrants.
The women didn’t say anything as they were cuffed in the courthouse lobby and taken to the jail for booking.
Sources said the two women have been together for about 18 months.
Investigators learned of the case last month when the victim was taken to ta Tulsa hospital because he was having seizures and had terrible lesions on his face.
He was immediately flown to Oklahoma City.
An affidavit says doctors there discovered many broken bones in different stages of healing and the boy was malnourished.
It says the boy told them he’d been tied up, duct taped, locked in a room and that both women hit with a belt. It says his mother hit his hand with a hammer and his stepmom kicked him in the groin so hard he bled.
However, the women created a GoFundMe page, claiming he was picking his own face and was having seizures because he fell down; they were asking for donations.
They wrote they never left his side, and because the hospital had no beds for them they were sleeping in their car.
Police said their investigation showed the boy did not cause his injuries, but the people who were supposed to love him and protect him did.
Muskogee County District Attorney, Orvil Loge, said, “Anytime you have child abuse or sexual abuse of a minor child, it’s always difficult because we’re dealing with such an innocent victim.”
A family member said people are dropping off toys and clothing to give to the victim and his identical twin brother – police said they do not believe that child was abused.
The victim is still in the hospital while his brother and 7-year-old sister are staying with family. Police said the boys’ father is out of the picture.
