Staunton pair guilty of infant abuse

Only weeks after their relationship skidded into trouble, a Staunton pair pleaded guilty Wednesday to injuring their infant child.

Richard Lee Steppe, 30, and Patience Dannielle Armentrout, 19, appeared before a Waynesboro Circuit Court judge to admit to felony child abuse of their 2-month-old baby.

The infant suffered a broken leg and went almost a week before Steppe and Armentrout sought medical attention, said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos.

Authorities arrested the pair in May after a Child Protective Services investigation discovered the broken bone.

The former couple stood before Judge Humes J. Franklin Jr. on Wednesday, Steppe in chains; Armentrout in tears. They watched and listened as Camblos illustrated to Franklin the severity of the abuse and neglect.

Unlike many broken bones, the infant’s leg was not snapped, Camblos said, twisting his wrists around an imaginary limb.

“This wasn’t a broken bone like you and I think of,” he said. “This was a spiral fracture. It could not have happened, according to the doctors who came in here, by accident.”

The infant is in the care of a foster family, Camblos said. Neither Steppe or Armentrout may visit with the child without court consent.

Franklin accepted Steppe’s guilty plea and sentenced him to two months in prison and two years of probation. Armentrout received a three-month sentence and two years probation.

Steppe moved from Waynesboro to Staunton in 2008, the same year authorities charged him with assault and battery of a family member. He pleaded guilty and a Staunton judge sentenced him to two years of probation, court records show.

Less than three months into his probation Steppe caught police attention again. Staunton authorities arrested him Sept. 22 on charges of physical abuse and for holding Armentrout against her will, said Staunton police spokeswoman Officer Lisa Klein.

Armentrout, who was staying with her mother just outside Verona at the time, said she was retrieving her belongings from Steppe’s house when he attacked, Klein said.

Officers transported Steppe and Armentrout to Middle River Regional Jail in Verona after the hearing.