Stephens County woman serving 10 years for child abuse

DUNCAN — A Comanche woman has been transported to prison to serve 10 years behind bars for permitting abuse of her young son.

On Friday, records indicate, Destini Hope Orebaugh, 28, was delivered to Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud. She pleaded guilty to a felony count of permitting child abuse and received a 20-year sentence with 10 years suspended and 10 to serve. She received credit for 228 days in the county jail since being charged in November 2022.

Due to the violent nature of the crime, 85 percent of the sentence must be served before consideration for parole.

District Judge Ken Graham also ordered Orebaugh pay a $5,000 fine plus court costs and two years of Department of Corrections supervision upon release. She also must register under the Mary Rippy Violent Crime Offenders Registration Act, records indicate.

Steven Michael Bailey, 32, also of Comanche, was charged in November 2022 with a count of permitting child abuse, records indicate. The felony charge is punishable by up to life in prison. Bailey and Orebaugh were sharing a home in Comanche.

Police arrested the pair Nov. 22, 2022. The day before, Orebaugh was seen beating a child inside an SUV  driven by Bailey, the probable cause affidavit states.

Witnesses told police Orebaugh was “swinging violently” at the child in the vehicle’s backseat. The boy’s head was seen repeatedly being slammed into the window and he was heard “crying and yelling for help,” the affidavit states.

Law enforcement went to the couple’s home in Comanche and during an initial check, only Orebaugh’s daughter, for an unknown reason, was checked out for abuse and no signs were reported being found, according to the affidavit.

Police returned the next day with a DHS caseworker who  saw signs of injuries on the boy, 6. The couple were taken into custody and the children taken to the Duncan emergency room, according to the affidavit. The examining doctor noticed older and new injuries to the boy.

The boy told investigators: “mommy choked him when he began to cry, she squeezed harder until I couldn’t breathe,” according to the affidavit.

Orebaugh told investigators she “has anger issues and was in a lot of pain. She stated she blacks out when she becomes angry, but did admit to striking the child repeatedly,” the affidavit states. She denied choking the boy and said “those were just scratches,” according to Mitchell.

Bailey has been held in the Stephens County Detention Center on $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to return to court at 9 a.m. Aug. 9 for the felony jury trial docket call for the September trial docket.