Pennsylvania father arrested for sexual assault in death of 10-month-old daughter

LOWER PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPVI) -- Officials in Montgomery County announced Tuesday the arrest of a man on charges related to the death of his 10-month-old daughter.

According to officials, police were dispatched to a home in the 3400 block of Germantown Pike, in Lower Providence Township, on Saturday at about 10:40 p.m. following a 911 call about an unresponsive baby.

Officers found found the unresponsive infant, and her father, 29-year-old Austin Stevens. The 10-month-old was taken to Einstein Medical Center Montgomery where she died.

According to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, detectives obtained a search warrant to download Stevens' phone, which showed Stevens conducted multiple Google searches for nearly an hour before calling 911, with subjects that included “If baby stop breathing,” “What if you don't hear baby heart or beat,” “My baby isn't breathing,” and “How do you know if a bsby is dead.”

Stevens also conducted social media and text conversations with two women during this time that were not related to the baby's condition, the D.A.'s Office said.

Detectives recovered a diaper worn by the baby while she was transported to the hospital. The diaper was saturated with blood.

Sunday, a Montgomery County Coroner's forensic pathologist's autopsy determined the child was the victim of a sexual assault, and blunt force trauma to the head.

Stevens was charged with involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, rape of a child, aggravated assault, aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and related charges. He was held on $1 million bail.