A York City Police Department Officer identified as Steve Cugini, 28, committed the most heinous of crimes that has left his community and former colleagues in shock.
Cugini was arrested for allegedly molesting a 13-month-old child in such a gruesome manner that even officers who are used to dealing with pretty gruesome crime scenes were shocked at what had happened to the baby.
Cugini was arrested Tuesday, April 16th, 2024 by the Pennsylvania State Police. and faces charges of felony r*pe, aggravated assault of a child, and aggravated indecent assault of a child related to attempts to cause serious bodily injury.
A Pennsylvania State Police investigation determined that Cugini had subjected his poor victim to s*xual violence that resulted in broken bones, severe bruising, swelling, and other horrible effects – how a grown man does that to a 13-month-old might never be understood!
A daycare worker at the YMCA Youth Development Center in Halifax, Dauphin reportedly called authorities after the little girl was left at the facility with serious injuries that the worker correctly surmised were linked to abuse.
The child was transported to Penn State Hershey Medical Center who found that aside from s*xual abuse, she had suffered broken bones and severe bruising.
Police were called to the facility after they examined the child.
Aside from the Pennsylvania State Police, the Dauphin County Child Abuse Team and Pennsylvania State Police were also involved in the investigation.
Other injuries police investigators noted included bruising on the child’s buttocks and groinal area, swelling to the left foot, bruising to the ankle and face as well as behind her ears and on her chest and abrasions on her fingers.
York City PD initiated proceedings to fire Steve Cugini immediately after his arrest but he resigned midway through the process.
According to Commissioner Commissioner Michael Muldrow, the first step was moving Cugini from suspended status to unpaid and then requesting the City government to terminate his employment.
On April 19th, Cugini resigned.
“With myself and so many of us still reeling and wondering how individuals with bad intentions can slip through the cracks undetected, I turn my attention inward and we once again began reviewing our process and screening tests,” Muldrow said.
Initially following his arrest, Cugini told authorities the injuries happened during a bathtub fall and an accident with the family dog however, investigators uncovered text messages showing Cugini taking responsibility for the injuries to the baby’s mother.
He also later confessed to police the injuries happened while the infant was in his care alone.
Investigators say the alleged abuse occurred between April 11th and 15th at two separate locations – in Elizabethville in Dauphin County and Springettsbury Township in York County.
Cugini was locked up at the Dauphin County Prison but is currently out on $200,000 bail.
Sometimes, the evil that men do, are completely undigestible and unfathomable.
One can only hope, the justice system handles this swiftly and metes out the appropriate punishment and send that man behind bars for a long time!