Bellingham child abuse suspect arrested near Portland, Whatcom sheriff’s office reports
The 28-year-old Bellingham man accused of assaulting and abandoning a 3-year-old child has been arrested in the Portland, Oregon, area, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday, July 16, on social media.
The sheriff’s office had previously been searching for Joshua Trent Klippenstein. He was charged July 14 in Whatcom County Superior Court with one count of second-degree assault of a child and second-degree abandonment of a dependent person, both felonies. A Whatcom County Superior Court judge had issued an order Tuesday authorizing a warrant for Klippenstein’s arrest.
No other details about Klippenstein’s arrest were immediately released.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to a house in the 5800 block of Milwaukee Road Sunday evening for the report of child abuse, according to court records.
A person who lived in the main residence at the Milwaukee address called 911 to report they could hear Klippenstein allegedly assaulting a child in a separate home at the back of the property around 8 p.m., the court records state. The caller also told 911 operators they had noticed evidence of child abuse over the past several weeks.
A separate person related to the child who lived in the main house tried to intervene, but Klippenstein allegedly locked the child in the home at the back of the property and drove away in a vehicle, the court records state. The person then got the child out of the home at the back of the property, the records state.
When deputies arrived, they found the 3-year-old child had bruising on his face, a wound on his forehead and bite marks on his arm, according to court records. The child’s mother arrived and told deputies she leaves the child in Klippenstein’s care while she is at work. When asked about the child’s injuries, the woman told deputies they were from two incidents more than a week ago in which the child was pulled down the stairs by a dog on a leash and when the child fell into the bathroom wall while attempting to pull up his pants, the court records state.
The child was put into protective custody and taken to St. Joseph’s hospital, where the child was admitted due to “significant injuries,” court records state. Doctors told deputies the child’s injuries worsened throughout his hospital stay, and that they also found older injuries to the child’s head, the records state.
During the child’s hospital stay, he allegedly told medical staff that Klippenstein hit him, the court records show.
Resources
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault or child abuse, you can contact the following local resources for free, confidential support:
▪ Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollns.org.
▪ Child Protective Services: Washington state hotline for reporting child abuse and neglect, 866-829-2153.
▪ Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.
▪ Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.
