A San Bernardino woman was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday for gaining custody of her own infant niece for producing and sharing child pornography of the baby, according to federal prosecutors. in Los Angeles.
Stefani Kasey Marie Stevens, 31, was found guilty in November 2022 of six counts of producing child pornography, one count of distributing material and one count of obtaining custody of a minor with intent intended to produce child pornography.
Prosecutors in California’s Central District asked a federal judge to sentence Stevens to life in prison, saying it was the only way to ensure that the predator would never abuse any children. any more children.
But the judge in the case, Virginia Phillips, sentenced Stevens to 40 years plus a supervised release for life when she was released from prison.
Stevens began babysitting his 5-month-old granddaughter in 2019 after the child’s mother, Stevens’ sister-in-law, got a job.
But within hours of receiving the infant, Stevens created sexually explicit material about the girl and sent it to a man on the Kik messaging app, prosecutors demonstrated at trial.
In addition, Stevens cared for a 7-year-old whose father was at work, and she also created child pornography about the minor. According to prosecutors, that child was detained by Stevens in October and November 2018.
According to prosecutors, she stored pictures and videos of minors in an online account, where she also kept hundreds of other child pornography videos and photos.
“The defendant’s conduct was heinous. The defendant exercised his sexual fantasies against not one but two children, including an infant,” federal prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo last month. , in which they called Stevens’ crimes “evil.”
