Estranged Husband Charged in Assault

A Moorpark woman and her boyfriend were assaulted by the woman’s estranged husband as they and a group of family members all camped together at Lake Piru early Sunday, police said.

Christy Stepp’s husband, Sean Stepp, allegedly had been drinking and struck his wife in the head as she slept in a tent about 2:00 a.m. When her boyfriend, Michael Deener, tried to intervene, the husband allegedly began hitting him in the head with a heavy metal flashlight. Others at the campsite subdued the two, and Sean Stepp left the area, police said.

Stepp, of Simi Valley, was later stopped for reckless driving by a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy. When it was learned that Stepp was the suspect in the campground attack, he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, assault with a deadly weapon and felony spousal battery.

Stepp is being held at the Ventura County Jail on $20,000 bail.

Christy Stepp, who suffered a scalp laceration, was treated and released from Santa Paula Memorial Hospital. Deener, of Simi Valley, received bruises but did not require medical attention.