Kendall Stephens, a man who claims to be female, was arrested Monday in Philadelphia and charged with rape, involuntary assault, unlawful contact with minors, and indecent assault against two boys, aged 14 and 9, NBC10 reported.
Stephens, 37, was charged with two counts of Rape, Indecent Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Corruption of Minors, and other charges following an investigation into the sexual assaults on the children that began in September, a report from Fox29 also noted.
According to NBC10:
The investigation began on Sept. 25 when the grandmother of one of the victims reported to police that Stephens – a family friend – sexually assaulted her grandchild, officials said. Stephens allegedly abused one boy on at least three occasions since 2022, beginning when he was just 8 years old.
Investigators said another victim reportedly told police Stephens assaulted him and had presented him with gifts “out of nowhere.” The victim said he believed the gifts were given to him to “keep him quiet,” court documents indicated.
According to the report, Stephens allegedly threatened one of the boys with being locked up if he reported the abuse.
The New York Post reported Tuesday that court records show Stephens had a preliminary arraignment in municipal court Monday night and is scheduled to appear before Judge Vincent W. Furlong again on December 29.
Stephens’ bail has been reportedly set at $250,000.
He has been well-known to the local media in Philadelphia for several years.
The X account of End Wokeness posted Tuesday an interview Stephens had with Fox29 in October during which he mourned fellow LGBTQ activist Josh Kruger, a Philadelphia journalist who was shot and killed inside his Point Breeze home.
Stephens described Kruger as having been open about his struggles with “addiction” and “homelessness.”
Days later, Victor Fiorillo reported in Philadelphia Magazine that a pro-LGBTQ organization had canceled Kruger’s memorial ceremony amid allegations that his killer was motivated by vengeance for alleged sex crimes committed by the deceased.
“With the allegations that have recently surfaced about Josh’s murder and the complexities involved,” the organization announced,
we don’t believe that we can create a safe space, either for Josh’s friends and family, or for those who have rightful anger and concerns over allegations of child sexual abuse. As more is revealed about the facts of the case, we hope that together we can figure out the right next steps to acknowledge and remember the many victims in this case—individuals, families and communities.
In August 2020, Fox29 reported Stephens was said to have been the victim of a “hate-crime” in his own home in Point Breeze.
Tymesha Wearing pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy and was sentenced to 11.5-to-23 months on house arrest with electronic monitoring. The report added the district attorney’s office said Wearing would not be eligible for parole until the completion of 18 months of house arrest, 120 hours of community service, an apology letter to Stephens, and participation in an anger-management program.
Following the attack, Stephens became a popular LGBTQ activist who pressed lawmakers for legislation related to “anti-LGBTQ” hate crimes.
When asked by Fox29 to describe the attack against him in 2020, Stephens said “a hateful mob of transphobes burst into my home while I had my two daughters inside and beat me senseless.”
“It was a violent, brutal mob beating, and I was lucky to have escaped with my life,” he said.
“Was it just hate?” Fox29 asked.
“It was hate, that was it,” Stephens replied, adding:
I didn’t know these people. These people were strangers to me and they thought it was okay to come into my home and assault me and break my bones. And then afterwards they didn’t care that the cops were coming. They waited right out there a few doors down, hurling anti-transphobic [sic] slurs at me, and the police left me there to my own devices. I had to advocate on my behalf for two hours before I sought medical treatment.
The Post reported that in March Stephens told CBS he “went to class the next day I was beaten because let me tell you something no one is going to steal my pride, no one is going to steal my power.”
NBC10 reported Stephens had also served as a member of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee.
A spokesperson for that office, however, told NBC10 Stephens no longer works with the committee and “was removed from the committee after the DA’s Office was informed about her arrest and referred the case to the AG’s Office.”
