CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield man charged for his part in a child assault case pleaded guilty Monday.
Kyle Victor Couturiaux, 36, was sentenced to 21 months to nine years in state prison by Judge Paul E. Cherry for three felony counts of endangering the welfare of children.
Originally, he was charged with conspiracy and three counts of aggravated assault, a total of five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and simple assault.
The charges stem from incidents at the home of Couturiaux and April Sue Lynn Eddy, 26, who witnesses say struck the children and paid little attention to the youngest of the five.
According to the affidavit, Eddy struck her 2-year-old son repeatedly with a belt in January leaving bruising, hit her 6-year-old son with a belt at least four times in August of 2021, struck her 2-year-old with an open hand and a diaper and shoved baby wipes into his mouth in September of 2021, and slapped the children for various things such as being too slow in getting ready for school.
This investigation into the abuse began after someone reported to police that while they were at her residence on Jan. 16, she noticed one of the children had something on their face, which she wiped off to discover bruises.
Another witness reportedly had previously taken video of injuries to a child’s back, face and upper back shoulder on one of the children.
That evening after these witnesses gave the kids something to eat; they said they heard Eddy arguing with her boyfriend, Couturiaux.
After seeing Eddy throw something at Couturiaux, they left the residence because they had seen the two fight before and were told not to interfere.
Allegedly, the couple was often in physical confrontations with each other.
When the children were questioned at the Child Advocacy Center, one of the kids said his bruises were caused by falling down the attic stairs where he sleeps.
The kids reported that when they get in trouble, Eddy and Couturiaux hit them.
The witnesses told police about specific incidents of violence they had witnessed and occasions when they had noticed the five children with injuries.
One of them said the baby was usually left in the crib in her room with the door closed. Another child was left in a car seat on their bed. They “had little interaction with the two youngest children,” he said.
It was also reported that the pair was abusing drugs in front of the children.
Another witness that was around the couple in previous years recalled a time she had to save an infant who was in the bathtub with only another young child around. She said the child was under the water and “turning blue”. Once removed from the water, he was revived.
There were multiple accounts of the young children’s diapers not being changed, and neighbors stated they often heard fighting in the home.
A former neighbor had actually reported the couple on a few occasions when they appeared to be neglecting the kids, according to the report.
When the children were questioned again after being removed from the home, one of them said that he did not want to live with Eddy and Couturiaux “because they smack me” and if he tells them to stop “they don’t stop.”
Eddy is charged with four felony counts of aggravated assault-victim less than 13-years-old, five felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of simple assault.
She is free on unsecured $100,000supervised bail. Her case is scheduled for criminal call on Jan. 5.