March 8, 2007 — A federal jury has convicted St. Croix resident Charles Stephano, 67, of receiving and possessing over 500 images of child pornography, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Stephano is currently being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals.
The evidence presented at trial, which began Feb. 21, included testimony from 16 witnesses, including a computer forensic examiner and an employee of the computer repair shop where Stephano took his personal computer for repairs.
According to the release, the examiner found evidence that Stephano had knowingly obtained child pornography images from publicly available Internet websites.
Printed images from some of the websites were discovered by law enforcement during their search of Stephano's home. Two law enforcement officers personally identified two of the victims depicted in the more than 350 child pornography images received and possessed by Stephano.
The 12-person jury reportedly deliberated for five hours before arriving at its verdict.
Stephano faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years with a $250,000 fine and the possibility of lifetime supervised release. Stephano's sentencing has been set for July 1.
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