Stepdad accused of abusing boy with duct tape

RIVERTON — A man accused of duct-taping the mouth of his 12-year-old wheelchair-bound autistic stepson and then roughly ripping the tape off to purposely make it hurt has been arrested for investigation of child abuse.

Steven Kimball, 42, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail Wednesday night for investigation of child abuse resulting in two or more injuries, a second-degree felony, and abuse of a disabled child, a third-degree felony.

The boy, Tyler, has a form of muscular dystrophy and has been in a wheelchair since age 10, according to Salt Lake County Jail records. He can move his head and arms but has no other mobility, according to the report. He also is on only a first-grade learning level.

"I can't believe all this is happening," said Holly Kimball, Steven Kimball's wife and biological mother of Tyler. "I think he snapped and went overboard this time."

Holly Kimball works at night and stays home during the day to watch Tyler. On Tuesday, Tyler was having a rough day, Holly Kimball said, so she took her daughters to soccer practice while Steven Kimball stayed home and watched Tyler.

While she was gone, Steven Kimball, apparently frustrated with the boy, who would not stop "chattering," according to jail records, put duct tape over his mouth and then ripped it off.

"There were significant abrasions. Skin was missing from his cheeks," said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson.

Steven Kimball later told sheriff's investigators who interviewed him that after he applied the tape "… he wanted it to hurt when he pulled it off," according to the jail report.

After ripping the tape from the boy's mouth, there was still tape residue left on his face, which Steven Kimball "used a rag to 'briskly' rub at … to remove it," jail records state. "Steven said he wanted the rubbing to be uncomfortable."

The rubbing left a half-dollar-size abrasion on his left cheek and a smaller one on his left ear, jail records state. His right cheek was swollen and discolored, according to jail records, and there were scratches on his scalp.

Holly Kimball said after ripping the duct tape from Tyler's mouth, Steven Kimball wrapped it around his head. When she got home, her first reaction was, "What the heck happened to his face?

"He said, 'I didn't think it would leave a mark like that.' I tried to believe him. I can't," she said. "I'm more in shock. I don't know. (Tyler is) very mentally challenged and can't express or tell me if anything's wrong. I had no idea anything was going on. I wish he could tell me."