Guilty Verdict in Child Abuse Case

WCDA Secures Convictions

A Reno man has been found guilty of one count of Child Abuse or Neglect and one count of Domestic Battery, following a two-day jury trial. Steven McLaughlin was convicted of child abuse against his 12-year-old son, and domestic battery against his wife.

Almost the entire incident was captured on video by one of the defendant’s other children in November of 2022. On November 19^th, deputies with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office were contacted by a local school official, who reported that he was shown the video by two of his students, who were two of the defendant’s children. The video, which was shown during the trial, depicted McLaughlin berating the 12-year-old child, screaming obscenities, and subsequently punching the victim in the head which caused him to fall to the ground. The mother of the victim attempted to intervene, leading the defendant to throw a steel-toed boot at her, aggressively poke her, and yell obscenities.

During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Widad Sairafe and Chief Deputy District Attorney Amos Stege brought both victims forward to testify. The State highlighted how the child only felt loved “sometimes”, to underscore the mental suffering he endured after the incident.

Sentencing is set for November 16th before the Honorable Judge David Hardy.