Man cites ‘anger issues’ for taking photos of disrobed teenage girls
BY Teresa Auch Schultz tauch@post-trib.com August 31, 2012 2:38PM
Updated: October 2, 2012 6:06AM
A Hammond man will serve 10 years in prison after admitting he took pornographic pictures of teenage girls staying in his house, although he claimed during his sentencing hearing Friday that he took the pictures out of anger, not for sexual reasons.
Steven Lewis, 51, explained during his hearing at the U.S. District Court in Hammond how he came to take the pictures of several 17-year-old girls who were staying at his house, telling U.S. District Judge James Moody that he had anger issues from a bitter divorce several years before and that he couldn’t understand why the court in that legal battle never sided with him.
“I’ve tried to live a perfect life, period,” he said. “ ... I just have a lot of anger issues.”
Lewis said he did not set up cameras in his house on purpose to take pictures of the girls but to capture any possible intruders. He said it was an accident the first time one of his cameras, disguised as a pen, took a picture of one of the girls while she was getting out of a shower.
Lewis also claimed he was disgusted when he heard what the case was about and argued he didn’t take the pictures for sexual reasons.
“It was about striking back in anger,” Lewis said.
Moody said he didn’t buy that argument, however, and interrogated Lewis about other pictures he took of the girls, including of them topless while they slept in his basement.
“It’s totally unbelievable,” Moody said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Koster said she was concerned about Lewis’ statements, noting that he benefited by the government not going after a more serious charge that would have brought a minimum of 15 years in prison. However, federal attorneys agreed in a plea agreement they would recommend a 10-year sentence for Lewis, which is the maximum he can serve under the charge of possession of child pornography.
