Latah County Sheriff’s Office
Case File #2005-01065 Report #2
Detective Margaret Lehmbecker
03-18-2005
Page 1 of 5

On 03-15-2005, at 1357 hours, [Ground Zero Father] came into the Sheriff’s Office. We talked in the interview room about his daughters being sexually abused by a boarder and a family friend, Steven J. Sitler. I asked [Ground Zero Father] how he found out that this was happening. [Ground Zero Father] said that he found out about his daughter [redacted] (DOB: [redacted], a 6 year old girl) because he found out it had happened to another girl that was staying at their home. [Ground Zero Father] said that on 03-04-2005, [Kirk Family #2] were out of town and their two daughters, [redacted] and [redacted] stayed the night with his family. [Ground Zero Father’s] daughters, [redacted], a 10 year old girl), [redacted] an 8 year old girl) and [redacted] slept in the same bedroom. On 03-05-2005, [redacted] told [redacted] that Sitler was in their room during the night and was on the bed with [redacted]. [Ground Zero Father] said that [redacted] told him that [redacted] woke up and did not know what to do so she told [redacted] to get in bed with her. [redacted] said it was a trundle bed. [redacted] said that Sitler stayed on the bed [redacted] had been in for awhile and then he left.

[Ground Zero Father] said that it obviously sounded strange so he asked her [redacted] if she knew what was going on. [redacted] said that she did not know anymore than that. [Ground Zero Father] said that [redacted] did not see anything she had just woke up and saw that Sitler was there. [Ground Zero Father] said that it was odd because Sitler sleeps in the basement of the house. [Ground Zero Father] said that he looked out the window to see if Sitler’s vehicle was in the driveway. Sitler’s vehicle was not in the driveway so he called his (Sitler’s) cell phone. Sitler was at a study session and said that he would be home at around 1000 o’clock. [Ground Zero Father] said that he did not know what to say to him at that time so he told Sitler that he just wanted to know where he was because he was worried about him and he would talk with him when he got back.

[Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler got back at around noon and he talked with Sitler at about 1300 hours. [Ground Zero Father] said at this time, when he talked with Sitler he did not have a clue that “any wrong doing” had happened, but Sitler had broken a house rule by being in the girl’s bedroom. [Ground Zero Father] said that they had a house rule that he (Sitler) and other borders were not allowed up stairs unless they were invited for a specific purpose. The upstairs of [Ground Zero Family] residence is where his families’ [sic] bedrooms and playroom are. [Ground Zero Father] said that he could not think of any reason why Sitler would be in the girl’s bedroom in the middle of the night. [Ground Zero Father] said that he confronted Sitler with being in the girl’s bedroom. [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler’s “excuss [sic] was basically that he had a wild hair and he wanted, to in the middle of the night, go pray for them.” [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler’s excuse set him back a little because he did not feel there were any excuses for Sitler to be up in the girl’s room in the middle of the night. [Ground Zero Father] said at this point there were “no accusations and no confessions” so he and Sitler talked about how inappropriate it was for him to be upstairs and that he should not be anywhere near the girls at night. [Ground Zero Father] said that he told Sitler that he was wrong in his action and he needed to tell his parents what he had done. [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler, “Admitted that it looked bad and was very sorry, very apologetic and asked for forgiveness.”

Latah County Sheriff’s Office
Case File #2005-01065 Report #2
Detective Margaret Lehmbecker
03-18-2005
Page 2 of 5

[Kirk Family #2 Daughter] and [Kirk Family #2 Daughter] parent’s were still out of town, but had prior arraignments [sic] with another family for the girls to stay with beginning 03-06-2005, Sunday. [Kirk Family #2 husband] and [Kirk Family #2 wife] did not return home until 03-09-2005, Wednesday. [Ground Zero Father] told Sitler that he needed to talk with the [Kirk Family #2] about what had happened and apologize to them for being in the girl’s room.

[Ground Zero Father] said that he went home from work early on 03-10-2005, because he was not feeling well. He said that he called the [Kirk Family #2] residence at about 1600 hours. [Ground Zero Father] explained to [Kirk Mother #2] that Sitler had been in the girl’s bedroom during the night on 03-04-2005, when her girls stayed with them. [Kirk Mother #2] said, “She [redacted] had obviously been aware of the fact. She knew that because [redacted] had told her that Steven was up in their room.” [Ground Zero Father] said that [redacted] told him that [redacted] had told her Sitler had touched her. [Kirk Mother #2] had told [Ground Zero Father] that she was trying to think the best so she did not push the issue with [redacted]. [Ground Zero Father] thought that [redacted] told her mother on the evening of 03-09-2005. [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler told him he touched [redacted] on the head and the back.

[Ground Zero Father] said that during his conversation with [Kirk Mother #2] on 03-10-2005, she told him that [redacted] had told [redacted] “that Steven had touched me too.” [Ground Zero Father] said that what [Kirk Mother #2] had told him caught him off guard because [redacted] did not stay the night in the same room with [redacted] and [redacted] on 03-04-2005. [Kirk Mother #2] told [Ground Zero Father] to talk with [redacted]. [Ground Zero Father] said that when he got off the phone with [Kirk Mother #2] he went and talked with [redacted] because she had told him about Sitler being in her room when [redacted] was there. [redacted] told him that Sitler had been in her room before. [redacted] told him that it was sometime last year during the night. Sitler was lying on the floor next to her bed and reached up and touched her bottom. [Ground Zero Father] said that [redacted] demonstrated for him how Sitler “squeezed her bottom like this.” As [Ground Zero Father] told me this he made a grabbing or squeezing motion in the air with his right hand. [Ground Zero Father] said that he knew then that there was “something majorly wrong” and he needed to deal with it. [Ground Zero Father] said that after he talked with [redacted] he went down stairs and asked Sitler to talk with him.

[Ground Zero Father] said that he told Sitler what [redacted] told him and asked him if it were true. [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler said, “Yes.” [Ground Zero Father] said that he had not talked with [redacted] yet, but he asked Sitler if he has done anything similar to [redacted]. [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler told him that he had. [Ground Zero Father] asked Sitler to tell him what he had done to [redacted]. [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler told him, “I touched her privates.” [Ground Zero Father] said that he asked Sitler if he touched [redacted] privates, once or more then [sic] once. When asked if it was more then [sic] once Sitler, “nodded his head yes, more then [sic] once.” [Ground Zero Father] said at that point he knew that Sitler had to move out of his home, because there was “a big problem.” [Ground Zero Father] said that he asked Sitler if he had abused the other girls and went through their names. Sitler, “Stuck with the head and back on [redacted]. Sitler said that he had “touched [redacted] and “acknowledged touching [redacted] back side.”

Latah County Sheriff’s Office
Case File #2005-01065 Report #2
Detective Margaret Lehmbecker
03-18-2005
Page 3 of 5

[Ground Zero Father] said that he told Sitler that he had to move out. He told him that he needed to call his parents and tell them or he would. Sitler agreed to call his parents and tell them about the abuse. [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler had been trying to call his parents but could not reach them. [Ground Zero Father] called Sitler’s parents and left a message stating that he needed to talk with them because he decided not to wait for Sitler to contact them. That evening Sitler was still in [Ground Zero Family’s] home. [Ground Zero Father] said that he “pretty much stayed up stairs in the hallway in case he tried to come up stairs again.” [Ground Zero Father] said that before he went to bed he called his pastor and got his advice on how to handle the situation.

The next morning Sitler’s father, Dave Sitler, called [Ground Zero Father] back. Sitler’s father said that they (Dave and Roxanne) had talked with Sitler and “he had confessed to them.” [Ground Zero Father] said that he did not know what Sitler told his parents, but based on the conversation he had with Dave, Sitler had confessed. Sitler moved out on 03-11-2005, Friday at about 0900 hours. Before Sitler left he asked [Ground Zero Father] if he needed to talk with the [Kirk Family #2]. [Ground Zero Father] called the [Kirk Family #2] and left a message that Sitter was leaving. Sitler left before arraignments [sic] could be made for him to talk with the [Kirk Family #2].

[Ground Zero Father] said that he met with his pastor and his pastor told him he needed to report the abuse to the police. [Ground Zero Father] talked with Greg Dickenson who made the report to our office.

[Ground Zero Father] and his wife [redacted] told [redacted] that Sitler had moved out and that he would not “do this anymore” and it was “over.” [Ground Zero Father] asked [redacted] if “this” had been happening last year. [redacted] said, “Yes.” [Ground Zero Father] said that they did not get specific with [redacted].

[Ground Zero Father] said that he called the Sitler’s and told them that he had an obligation to make a report. The Sitler’s said that they understood and felt that he should make a report. On the evening of 03-11-2005, Dave called and told [Ground Zero Father] that Sitler had not been completely honest with him. Dave put Sitler on the phone to talk with [Ground Zero Father]. [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler told him that he had not been completely honest with him. Sitler had told him that it would be coming out and [Ground Zero Father] could hear it from him or from someone else. [Ground Zero Father] told Sitler that he wanted to hear it from him. [Ground Zero Father] said that Sitler, “Confessed, he confessed that, um, at least a couple of times it was more then [sic] hands touching privates. It was privates touching privates. He, ah, he said that she [redacted] was still a virgin, but he described more than just hands.” I asked [Ground Zero Father] what Sitler described to him. [Ground Zero Father] said, “He described approaching her in the middle of the night when she [redacted] was sleeping and laying on top of her without his pants on, basically, or hers, private to private.” [Ground Zero Father] said that he asked Sitler how long this had been happening. Sitler acknowledged that touching started last year. [Ground Zero Father] said, “So he’s done this awhile.”

Latah County Sheriff’s Office
Case File #2005-01065 Report #2
Detective Margaret Lehmbecker
03-18-2005
Page 4 of 5

I asked [Ground Zero Father] when Sitler moved in with them. [Ground Zero Father] said that he moved in at the beginning of last school year, August of 2003. I asked [Ground Zero Father] if Sitler told him that he used his hands to touch [redacted] privates. [Ground Zero Father] said, “No, the only thing that know from him directly, other than him rubbing himself on her private to private was that he touched her privates.” [Ground Zero Father] told me that he did not know the progression of what Sitler had been doing. He said that Sitler told him that [redacted] was asleep. [Ground Zero Father] asked Sitler if [redacted] had woke up. Sitler said, “Yes.”

[Ground Zero Father] said that when Sitler first moved in they did not have a strict rule about Sitler being upstairs. He said that Sitler would be upstairs with the girls reading books. [Ground Zero Father] said that his family had also used the middle section of the residence, but over the course of two school years they decided to move upstairs and made the rule that boarders where not allowed upstairs. I asked him if something had happened that caused him to make the rule that no one other then [sic] the family were to be upstairs. [Ground Zero Father] said, “Nothing specific, but I think we did notice he seemed to be spending a lot of time with the kids. I didn’t have any suspicion that he was doing anything inappropriate.”

[Ground Zero Father] said that he asked Sitler again about the other girls. [Ground Zero Father] said “There was no admission to touching [redacted] the eight year old and [redacted] had obviously been the brunt of receiving most of his treatment.” [Ground Zero Father] said Sitler admitted to him that he that touched his three year old, [redacted] a 3 year old girl) on at least two occasions this year, 2005. Sitler told [Ground Zero Father] he had taken [redacted] from her bedroom in the middle of the night to one of the bathrooms in the residence and touched her private to private. [Ground Zero Father] also has two sons, [redacted] a 5 year old boy) and [redacted] a 1 year old boy). [Ground Zero Father] did not believe that either of the boys was abused. [Ground Zero Father] said that he tried to talk with [redacted], but she ran things together and talked about random stuff. [Ground Zero Father] did not want [redacted] to be interviewed because he felt that she was too young and not able to tell us what happened to her.

[Ground Zero Father] said that he asked Sitler how often he abused [redacted]. [Ground Zero Father] said from what Sitler told him he had abused [redacted] “multiple times a month.” I started to recap. I said, “So it was just the one time with [redacted]. [Ground Zero Father] said, “No, I have to tell you one more about her.” [Ground Zero Father] said that during the conversation with Sitler on 03-11-2005, he confessed that he touched [redacted] privates with his hand when she was asleep. [Ground Zero Father] said that he asked [redacted] about it and she is not aware of it happening. [Ground Zero Father] said that he asked Sitler if he touched [redacted]. Sitler said that he did touch [redacted] privates on the night she woke up and caught him.

Latah County Sheriff’s Office
Case File #2005-01065 Report #2
Detective Margaret Lehmbecker
03-18-2005
Page 5 of 5

[Ground Zero Father] did not want [redacted] interviewed because he felt that he did not have any indication that she had been abused. [Ground Zero Father] did not want to make a consensual call to Sitler. The interview was concluded.

In the lobby prior to [Ground Zero Father] leaving the office I asked him again about his sons [redacted] and [redacted]. [Ground Zero Father] said, “I don’t think he’s into that.”

On 05-11-2005, [Ground Zero Father] came into the Sheriff’s Office. He told me that he now thinks that his son [redacted] has been abused.

Detective Margaret Lehmbecker/307
05-13-2005
Time Spent: 18 hours