White Settlement Police arrest man accused of child sexual assault, violated his bond

White Settlement Police arrested a man they say is connected to two victims of child sexual assault.

After police posted on social media and news coverage spread, 39-year-old Steven Skalij was arrested on two counts of sexual assault of a child.

Police Chief Christopher Cook said Skalij knew his victims, and they had received a tip from a parent.

Cook said officers arrested Skalij in October 2023 on one count of sexual assault of a child.

NBC 5 found Skalij has an extensive criminal record that dates back to 2004, with charges ranging from theft to assault with a deadly weapon, terroristic threat, and family violence.

He was living in a home on Bomber Road that had police asking questions.

“There were multiple locations at the property, living locations. There were multiple teenagers, there were multiple other adults staying at the location," Cook said.

He said all the teens at the home were girls, and the adults were both men and women.

“There was some allegations, again, that people just didn’t go by state law, that if a teenager wanted to engage in a romantic sexual relationship with an adult — that they’d just turn the other way, and that’s very concerning," Cook said.

Cook said police had requested a $500,000 bond for Skalij, “because we felt like there was a lot of stuff that was pretty egregious in this particular case."

Police were also concerned after their interview with Skalij.

"Our detectives gathered that, again, he felt like the teenagers could consent but that’s just — that’s not allowed under Texas law, that a child can consent to a sexual relationship with an adult," Cook said.

Judge Christopher Gregory, Tarrant County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, set Skalij's bond for $500,000.

“What stood out to me was the age of the victim and the ability for the alleged offense that occurred to manipulate her that was brought across in the arrest warrant. So, that’s where I believed that, to protect her, and to protect public safety, it needed to be about $500,000," Gregory said.

Another judge decided to reduce that bond to $100,000.

“That always frustrates ... but ... that is within their authority to do that," Cook said.

White Settlement Police

“What was most concerning to our team is once he was released, he actually picked up one of the victims, according to our team. Again, it just goes to show you, that’s what we were concerned about to begin with," Cook added.

That would have violated the terms of his bond. According to court records, Skalij's bond conditions include no contact with the victim, her family, or anyone under the age of 17.

“That’s the reason why I set a half-a-million-dollar bond, is to protect the public safety. I don’t set it haphazardly," Gregory said.

Police have found more evidence and another victim, and issued two more felony warrants against Skalij for sexual assault of a child. But now, they can't find him.

“We have checked the location where he resided in our city, we’ve had our officers there multiple occasions, they have not seen him at this location. So, we don’t think he’s staying in our city, anymore," Cook said.

Cook said they've made contact with Skalij over the phone. At one point, he said Skalij told officers he'd turn himself in, but never showed up.

They believe Skalij is still somewhere in North Texas.

"We’re hoping that somebody recognizes the photos that we provided, knows where he’s been staying," Cook said.

He said Skalij has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty but they want to arrest so that the now three cases against him can move through the court system.

Gregory has set the bonds for Skalij's two new warrants at a total of $1.5 million, to make sure he doesn't bond out again and commit another crime.

In an unexpected turn, Steven Skalij, still wanted by police, reached out to NBC 5 reporter Candace Sweat. He spoke briefly over the phone. NBC 5 will not be sharing audio of the conversation, but he told us he that he was not on the run or in hiding and didn’t understand why police were looking for him.

Chief Christopher said in a post on X, that the tips were appreciated and Skalij is now in jail.