Fircrest man pleads not guilty to beating girlfriend's boys
Adam Lynn
A man charged with badly beating two brothers – one 3, the other 18 months – pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree child assault and second-degree child assault.
Pierce County Court Commissioner Meagan Foley ordered Stepan Perebeynos, 28, jailed in lieu of $1 million bail.
Authorities arrested Perebeynos at a Fircrest apartment Thursday after he called 911 to report the younger boy wouldn’t wake up. The defendant had been watching the boys and their 6-year-old sister while the children’s mother was receiving in-patient drug treatment, authorities said.
Police said the 18-month-old was covered with bruises and that his eyes were swollen shut. Paramedics took him to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and Health Center, where he was diagnosed with a life-threatening subdural hemotoma, blood collected outside the brain, court records show.
A relative of Perebeynos later brought the 3-year-old boy to the hospital with a broken arm, a broken tooth and severe bruising, the records show.
Perebeynos told authorities the younger boy suffered his injuries in a fall. Doctors told detectives that explanation was highly unlikely.
The defendant also said the older boy had been in the custody of his father for several days. Police believe that’s a lie.
adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com
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