Inland Empire Woman Charged with Production of Child Pornography

          RIVERSIDE, California – A San Bernardino County woman has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging she produced child pornography of her boyfriend’s daughter, who is under the age of 12 years old.

          Stefani Kasey Marie Stevens, 28, of Yucaipa, was arrested at her home on Friday afternoon. During her initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside, she was ordered detained.

          Stevens has been charged with one count of production of child pornography. Her arraignment is scheduled for December 17.

          According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, on November 8, law enforcement officers executed two search warrants at Stevens’s home. Stevens agreed to be interviewed by law enforcement and she admitted to using her iPhone to take sexually explicit photographs of a minor girl, the affidavit states. Stevens allegedly told law enforcement that she had taken between eight and 10 sexually explicit images of the victim and later sent them to someone on the online messaging service Kik.

          Kik previously identified a user account as having uploaded child exploitation material to its platform, the affidavit states. That user account was identified as belonging to Stevens, the affidavit states.

          During the search, law enforcement seized Stevens’s iPhone, two tablets, a desktop computer, and bedding that matched bedding depicted in the sexually explicit photographs, according to the affidavit.

          A complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

          If convicted of this charge, Stevens would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

          This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

          This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Trisotto of the Riverside Branch Office.