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Date: 02-08-2024
Case Style:
Case Number: 2:21-CR-00338
Judge: George H. Wu
Court: The United States Court for the Central District of California (Los AngelesCounty)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles
Defendant's Attorney:
Description:
Canyon Country Man Sentenced Federal Prison for Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material
A Santa Clarita man who is a former Navy SEAL was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) for surreptitiously filming nude minor victims with hidden cameras in a residential setting.
Robert Quido Stella, 51, of Canyon Country, was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu.
At the conclusion of a four-day trial in May 2023, a jury found Stella guilty of three counts of production of child pornography. In April 2023, prior to trial, Stella pleaded guilty to access with intent to view child pornography and two counts possession of child pornography.
In 2021, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received a tip that Stella had accessed a dark web child pornography website.
On July 15, 2021, agents found collections of CSAM on Stella’s computer and two external hard drives. Stella concealed some of the collections in digital folders structures bearing misleading titles such as “federal contracts” and “tax returns.”
During the investigation, HSI agents also found hidden cameras that Stella placed, including one disguised as a USB charging block. According to evidence presented at trial, Stella used that hidden camera to film his minor victims as they undressed to shower and used the bathroom.
HSI later located approximately 17 videos and over 100 screenshots from those videos of minor victims naked and partially undressed. Stella hid these images under multi-level digital folder structures on a hard drive bearing misleading titles such as “course work.”
Stella has been in custody since his arrest in July 2021.
HSI investigated this matter.
Outcome:
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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