Photo: Steven Skyler Abbott
Ventura County – Nearly twenty years ago, Thousand Oaks resident Steven Skyler Abbott was an active member of Newbury Park’s Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
According to Ventura Police Department spokesman Sgt. Dan Hawes, Abbott’s December 6th arrest was the result of “a thorough investigation” into Abbott’s contacts with females who were juveniles at that time.
That investigation began in September of 2018 when patrol deputies attached to the Thousand Oaks Police Department answered a call of “suspected child crimes” within their jurisdiction.
At that time, a 16-year-old alleged victim reported that she was “sexually abused between the ages of 5 to 11 by Abbott. With that report documented as a “lewd act upon a child,” the TOPD Major Crimes Sexual Assault Unit went to work.
Not long after, detectives identified a second 24-year-old victim who reported that she had been “sexually abused” by Abbott when she was between three and seven years of age.
Evidence discovered during the investigation indicated that Abbott had met and had “associated” with the victims and their families through a shared religious affiliation.
Detectives then presented evidence of these crimes to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. Charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child, lewd acts upon a child, and forcible lewd act upon a child were filed against Abbott on November 16th.
On November 28th and arrest warrant was used against Abbott. On December 6th, detectives attached to the TIOPD Major Crimes Sexual Assault Unit made contact with Abbott, arrested him, and transported him to Ventura County Jail, where his bail was set at $250,000.
Photo: Courtesy Thousand Oaks Police Department
