Father who raped his 3-month-old daughter to death gets life sentence

A father was yesterday sentenced to two life terms in prison for causing the death of his 15-week-old daughter while he was orally raping her.

Steven Deuman Jr, 26, of Traverse City, Michigan, was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault after jurors – who were subjected to disturbing testimony and photos – took less than an hour to convict him in September.

In August 2011, baby Evelynne Deuman was found in the bedroom of their mobile home bleeding from the nose, unconscious and not breathing.

Deuman wasted valuable time from the moment he found his baby daughter until he called an ambulance.

He later told her mother Natasha Maitland that she had choked on a used condom.

Maitland, who was at work when her daughter died, spoke in federal Judge Gordon Quist’s courtroom in Grand Rapids before the sentencing.

She revealed she had burned and destroyed all evidence she had of Deuman in her life as she does not want any memory of him, according tomlive.com.

She said: ‘If I was asked to describe you, two words stick out – coward and monster. You are a monster for what you did to Evelynne, that you would do such horrific things to take her life.

‘I wish I could come up with words to explain how deeply I hurt. I will never hear her first words, see her first steps.

‘You are an evil person.’

Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Green said yesterday the crime was ‘among the most contemptible and horrific crimes one can commit.

‘He didn’t just orally rape the girl. He put her on the floor and left her to die. He didn’t call 911. He didn’t do anything to save her life.’

Throughout the trial, Deuman maintained he put his daughter on the bed while he went outside for a cigarette.

When he came back she was lying on the floor not breathing with the discarded condom in her mouth.

Subsequent tests showed the DNA on the outside belonged to the baby and on the inside belonged to Deuman.

Green said yesterday: ‘This was a very difficult case for anyone to have to hear.

‘This is about as heinous as it gets. That’s a tragic reality here. He did do it.

‘A beautiful 15-week-old baby girl lost her life, lost her future, because of his need for sexual gratification.’

He applauded the baby’s mother Natasha for testifying on behalf of the prosecution, despite ‘having to endure a loss no one should ever have to endure’.

According to Michigan Live, he told jurors: ‘This was no accident. She couldn’t roll over, much less crawl.

‘She certainly wasn’t capable of overcoming the obstacles on her bed, the pillows, to end up on the floor. Even if (she did), how is she going to suck that condom up?’

Finally, he said: ‘It’s hard to imagine anything more objectionable than the oral rape of a 15-week-old baby.’

Jurors also heard from witnesses who, as children, claimed they also were sexually abused by Deuman.

The defense attorney argued that his client was a proud father and that the mobile home they shared with ten other people was an ‘accident waiting to happen.’

He said prosecutors unfairly portrayed his client as an ‘unbridled sex fiend’.