Montgomery County Man Accused of Sexually Assaulting His 10-Month-Old Daughter Who Later Died

A Montgomery County man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting his 10-month daughter, who then died at the hospital.

The incident occurred over the weekend in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. On Sunday, 29-year-old Austin Stevens was charged with involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, rape of a child, aggravated assault, and other charges related to the death of his 10-month-old daughter, Zara.

Police were called to Stevens’ Collegeville home on Saturday, and upon arrival, the infant was found unresponsive. After initial attempts to revive the child, she was later pronounced dead.

In an interview with detectives, Stevens said he left the baby in a bathtub for a few minutes to quickly go to the kitchen. While he was gone, he heard a loud bang, and when he returned, the baby would not move or wake up. So he called 911.

But according to reports, investigators said Stevens googled several suspicious questions, such as, “how to give CPR to a baby,” “What if you don’t hear baby heart or beat,” and “How do you know if a baby is dead,” prior to calling 911. He also spent time on social media before calling for help.

An autopsy later revealed that the baby was sexually assaulted and suffered blunt force trauma to the head.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said, “This case is deeply disturbing. It is hard to imagine this child’s death being any more traumatic: sexual assault on an infant, followed by inaction by the father to save her life, led to her death.”

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stevens had full custody of his daughter as part of an “amicable” agreement with the mother at the time of the child’s death.

Stevens has not been charged with murder because the cause of the baby’s death has yet to be determined. In the meantime, he is currently being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $1 million bail.  He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 13.