By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Chehalis National Guardsman accused of assault of his girlfriend’s 7-year-old son pleaded not guilty yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court.
The mother of the child and the accused man’s mother were in the Chehalis courtroom to support him.
Steven Grant Williams
Steven Grant Williams didn’t do what they say he did, his mother said outside the courtroom after the brief hearing.
“I know him. I know that’s not his way,” Nadine Cotter said. “I know that … that’s just not my son.”
Authorities last week described the injuries to the 39-year-old man’s girlfriend’s son as two black eyes and including bruises on his back and buttocks. The child told a police officer his mother’s boyfriend had bound him with black tape, covered his eyes and mouth and beat him with a belt, according to charging documents.
Cotter, who lives in Centralia, said watching her son’s situation made her realize the meaning of people being presumed innocent.
“I would ask people to stop and think; charges does not mean guilty,” she said.
Williams was arrested by Chehalis police last week after the mother Sarra Dennis returned her son to his paternal grandmother who he lives with. The child was taken to a hospital and his body was found covered in bruises, according to police.
Deputy Police Chief Randy Kaut said after the arrest it was one of the most extensive child abuse cases he’s seen in his career.
The boy had just finished a two or three week visit in Chehalis with his mother and Williams, the first they’d had with him since they moved back to Washington from southern California. Dennis, 27, said she sent him to live with his grandmother in Davenport because she had financial difficulties.
Williams just returned five months ago from deployment in Kosovo, according to Dennis. His temporary defense attorney was mistaken when he said last week Williams was just discharged from the Army, she said.
He remains in the Lewis County Jail, held on $25,000 bail neither woman thought they could raise for his release.
Dennis, who is also a member of the National Guard, said they moved to Chehalis to be closer to family. She is from Yelm and Tumwater.
Williams is charged with second-degree assault of a child. His trial was set for the week of Oct. 18.
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To read a previous news story on this, click here.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter