EXCLUSIVE Sickening past of Texas stepdad whose boy, 6, died after he 'let girl, 10, drive his truck'
Kash Riley Yeater, 6, died when the huge Nissan Titan pickup truck destroyed the porch of his home in Lufkin, Texas, in the early hours of Sunday.
His stepfather Clinton Earl Johnson Jr, 31, allegedly gave the girl the keys so she could move it out of the way of her tricycle, but instead she ran over Kash.
Johnson was portrayed as the perfect stepdad on Facebook by Kash's mother, Paiton Rose, 27, in hundreds of adorable family snaps and gushing posts.
But the truth is far more sinister.
Johnson was sentenced to eight years in 2013 for gang-raping a 16-year-old girl in March 2011, along with his father two other men.
The four men held the victim down on a mattress in the backyard of Clinton Earl Johnson Sr.'s house in Hudson, Texas, and took turns raping her.
Johnson was arrested by the Hudson Police Department weeks later and charged with six counts of sexual assault, at least one of them aggravated.
Kash Riley Yeater, 6, was killed when his stepfather 'let a 10-year-old girl drive his truck and she crashed it into their house'
He pleaded guilty to one count in a plea bargain. His father was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to one count of indecency with a child by sexual contact.
Timothy Headly, then 21, and Adrian Eugene Moreland, 18, were both also jailed on similar charges.
Johnson Sr. died on May 22, 2018, at the age of 60, according to his obituary.
But the younger Johnson's criminality didn't stop after he was released from jail sometime before 2021.
He was given a year's probation for driving under the influence on January 18, 2021, in a deferred disposition, despite his rape conviction.
Then in 2022, he was charged with assault causing injury for an attack on on New Year's Eve 2021. He was fined, but it was unclear from records if he was jailed.
Johnson was dating Rose at the time, and she wrote in gushing Facebook posts of 'rough patches' in their relationship and that they had 'been through hell'.
Rose admitted in 2022 that their relationship 'definitely haven't (sic) been peachy' and they were in a 'rough patch', which she believed 'will make us indestructible'.
Court records did not identify the victim in Johnson's assault case.
Rose in the same post claimed her then-fiancé would 'give the shirt off his back, give you his last dime, his last meal'.
'This man took my boys in just like they were his and has never treated them as anything other than his,' she wrote.
'Baby you have loved us beyond measure, and that love has never changed or switched up... I don't know what we would do without you. You're the hardest worker I know and you have always made sure we were taken care of.'
Then last September, she wrote at length about Johnson and what a good stepfather he was to her two sons.
'We have been through hell baby, and it's made us so much stronger together.. every obstacle we've encountered, we have overcome!' she wrote.
'You have turned into such an amazing father and an even better husband. I am proud of every single thing you have accomplished, even if it's no big deal to you, it is to me.
'You're such an amazing man, with a heart of gold, and the most beautiful soul. God brought you into my life 3 different times for a reason, and the third time was damn sure the charm!'
Moments before Kash died, Johnson was grilling up a midnight feast of chicken and the 10-year-old girl complained his pickup was in the way of her riding her tricycle.
He told the girl to 'scoot it up' and gave her the keys, according to the statement Rose made to police this week.
Johnson told police the girl drove the truck several times before on backroads.
But Rose, 27, said the girl 'got confused and got on the gas, causing the accident' when she ploughed through the porch, sending chairs and debris everywhere.
Kash was sitting on the porch playing with Rose's phone, unaware of the 2.9 tons of metal accelerating toward him until it was too late.
Angelina County Sheriff's deputies arrived about 1 am to find Kash lying on his back in front of the Titan on what was left of the porch.
He was rushed to hospital but did not survive.
When they arrived, deputies saw the barbecue, still with chicken sizzling on it, and the tricycle next to the pickup, along with poles and pieces of wood nearby.
They alleged in their report that they smelled alcohol on Johnson and Rose's breath, and the couple both admitted to having three or four drinks while grilling.
Johnson was arrested on Tuesday and released from the Angelina County Jail the next day on $3,000 bail, charged with felony criminally negligent homicide.
Kash's obituary identified his father as Ian Yeater and listed Johnson as his 'bonus dad' and Yeater's new partner as his 'bonus mom'.
'Kash "Money" was a very happy child who always had a smile on his face,' the obituary read.
'He didn't believe in Santa but he lived up to his name Kash 'Money' by still believing in the tooth fairy because of the money under his pillow.
'He loved spooky things, but he was still afraid of the dark and had to have a light on. His best buddy was his brother... whom he loved dearly.
'Kash also loved his baby brother... he was the only one that could calm him down. He was a gamer boy and loved his video games (especially Among Us and Sonic).
'He enjoyed swimming, school, fishing and four wheelers. Kash had a very kind heart and loved to give and receive hugs.'
Johnson and Rose were married in September 2023, with the groom and his stepsons wearing camouflage vests and cowboy hats.
The couple had their own son in August 2024 and Johnson has two daughters, according to Kash's obit.
Rose in multiple Facebook posts gushed about Johnson and what a good stepfather he was to her two sons.
Rose also wrote online about Kash last year, saying he gave her 'something to live for'.
'I am so very proud of you and everything you have accomplished my Kash Riley! You will grow up to achieve amazing things, I just know it!!
'You are so smart, and kind, and oh so forgiving. I know I haven't always been the best momma, but you love me and teach me more and more every day!
'Please stop growing on mommy; Idk how much more of you getting big I can take! I love you so so so much my baby, and I hope you will stay a mommy's boy forever!'
Kash will be buried at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Lufkin on Saturday.
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