A very disturbing story came to light last week after the arrests of Ryan Neal Collins, age 42, and Francesca Angelic Steadman, age 37, both residents of Waynesboro. The Wayne County News will not print all of the graphic information contained in the arrest warrants pertaining to underage children, but we do want to inform our readers of the severity of these charges.
The arrest warrants filed by Investigator Matt Retherford of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office state that Collins and Steadman, along with their eight-year-old twins and an infant, moved to 477 Waynesboro Highway, Lot 13, in February of 2020. The children were removed from the home and placed into foster care in Leoma, Tennessee in April of 2020. While in foster care, the twins disclosed to their foster parents that Collins had allegedly exposed them to sexual abuse. The children also had burn marks on their fingers, along with other signs of neglect and abuse.
After being placed into foster care, the children were allowed to have visits with Steadman, but experienced symptoms of abuse after returning to their foster home.
Steadman and Collins were arrested and booked into the Wayne County Jail on Thursday, September 10th. Both Steadman’s and Collins’ arrest warrants stated in part that “Ryan Collins’ and Francesca Steadman’s actions and behavior are a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary parent would exercise, and those actions adversely affected the children’s health and welfare.”
Ryan Neal Collins was charged with three counts of Child Abuse or Neglect, a Class E felony, and three counts of Solicitation of Minor to Observe Sexual Conduct, a Class C felony. He is being held in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of $900,000 bond.
Francesca Angelic Steadman was charged with three counts of Child Abuse or Neglect, a Class E felony. She is being held in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bond.
