Steele is charged with PC 311.11 a
The Humboldt County DA has charged him with a felony.
Steele's bail was set at $200,000 and he is out of custody. He was arraigned on February 15 and plead not guilty.
On January 11, I posted on the details from the Ramey warrant, link below. The Ramey warrant listed approximately 500 images. The warrant listed HSU as his business address.
I contacted HSU to see if he is still employed there. According to HR, "Matthew Aaron Steele was employed at HSU through 1/19/2017. He was working with the Sponsored Programs Foundation, an auxiliary of HSU."
From law.onecle.com
"311.11. (a) Every person who knowingly possesses or controls any matter, of representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film or filmstrip, the production of which involves the use of a person under 18 years of age, knowing that the matter depicts a person under 18 years of age personally engaging in or simulating sexual conduct, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 311.4, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or a county jail for up to one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both the fine and imprisonment."
From Takajian and Sitkoff, LLP:
PC 311.11(a) Punishment And Consequences
Possession child pornography is a “wobbler” offense in California. Therefore, prosecutors can charge you with either a felony or misdemeanor depending on the facts of your case, such as the number of images you possessed, the specific acts depicted in the images, whether you have prior convictions for child porn possession, and whether you are a registered sex offender. These aggravating factors also further enhance the already harsh punishments you face. However, as a misdemeanor, you face the following:
- Up to 1 year in LA County Jail
- Up to a $2,500 fine
- Formal probation
- Community labor
- Lifetime registration as a sex offender
As a felony:
- Up to 1 year in state prison
- Up to a $2,500 fine
- Formal probation
- Community labor
- Lifetime registration as a sex offender
Your punishment and sentencing would be further enhanced to up to 5 years in state prison if your possession of child pornography charges involves one or more of the following:
- You possessed 600 or more images with 10 or more images depicting prepubescent minors or minor under 12 years old
- The images you possessed depicted minors under 18 years of age engaged in sexual sadism or sexual masochism
If you have been previously convicted of a sex offense requiring sex offender registration, you will be charged with a felony possession of child pornography and face the following punishment and sentencing:
- Up to 6 years in state prison
- Up to a $2,500 fine
Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Schafer is prosecuting the case. Mr. Michael Robinson has been hired by Steele to represent him.
Previous posts:
http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2017/01/child-pornography-suspect-matthew.html?m=1
http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2017/01/ramey-warrant-for-matthew-aaron-steele.html?m=1
http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2017/01/matthew-aaron-steele-arrested-for.html?m=1
This is something churches and parents and anyone who thinks children should be protected from predators should take a strong interest in and make their views for the strongest possible penalties for this crime.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making all this known.
do you still go to all the court things?
ReplyDelete