A Palm Desert business man arrested for illegally stashing guns and drugs at his auto shop has now also been charged with possessing child pornography. At a hearing this morning the DA's office said they've charged Steven Vonstein with more than 100 child porn counts.
This comes after investigators say they found boxes of explicit photos at his home.
It was late last month when the sheriff's department raided Steven Vonstein's Palm Desert auto shop and seized guns and drugs. Then when investigators searched Vonstein's home they say they found boxes of explicit videos and this file cabinet full of photos showing minors in compromising positions. But at his initial arraignment earlier this month Vonstein was only charged with having illegal guns and drugs. Now the DA's office has charged the 48 year old business owner with 102 misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography. Vonstein plead not guilty to those new charges.
“These are true child porn,” says Deputy D.A. Lisa Dimaria. “You wouldn't want your child in any of these photos.”
Deputy D.A. Dimaria says she still has several more boxes of photos to go through, adding that more charges could be filed against Vonstein in the future. For now, the hundreds of photos remain confidential. But Vonstein's attorney, Christopher Disalva, says if this case goes to trial prosecutors will have a tough time proving these pictures are actually child pornography.
“It's my understanding they can't determine the age of some of the individuals being photographed.”
The deputy D.A. says that's not the case.
“If you saw them, you'd know they're minors. The ones charged clearly look like children.”
And the prosecutor says Vonstein has not been charged with making any of this child porn, but she says merely possessing the pictures is a serious crime.
The D.A.'s office says for every child porn count Vonstein is convicted on, he could face 1 year in prison. If he's convicted on all counts, the D.A.'s office says Vonstein could face more than 100 years behind he's set to be back in court next month.
