Current Events > Texas Man Seen On Video Smashing Computer 24 Times In Child Porn Case

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-man-sentenced-being-caught-173226575.html

A Weatherford man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was caught on video smashing a computer with a hammer in an attempt to stop authorities from seizing it because it may have had child pornography, the Parker County district attorney said Friday.

Weatherford police later seized his cell phone which contained a child porn video

Judge Graham Quisenberry sentenced Joe Eddie Stephens, 71, on Wednesday to 12 years for promotion of child pornography and 10 years for tampering with evidence. The sentences will be served concurrently.

A Parker County jury needed only 15 minutes to convict Stephens on the charges.

He will be eligible for parole in three years.

The case began in May 2019 when Stephens son came home and found out his father had picked up two young girls from an elementary school under the guise that they were going to with his granddaughter.

The son became concerned when he released the granddaughter was not there and Stephens was taking pictures of the two girls posing provocatively in their swimsuits.

Stephens son checked the browser history on Stephens computer which led him to believe his father was accessing child porn on the computer.

When Mr. Stephens was confronted by family members, he blamed other people that he said must have accessed his computer, said Parker County District Attorney Jeff Swain in a Thursday news release When the family didnt buy that, he said he was lonely and then threatened to commit suicide, which is what led to Weatherford PD being called.

Before Weatherford police arrived, Stephens became enraged, pulled the computer out the wall and threw the computer against a brick fireplace before taking it out to the garage.

Once in the garage, Stephens grabbed a claw hammer and smashed the computer 24 times, Swain said.

Weatheford police obtained a warrant and seized the computer and Stephens cell phone. His phone had a videos of the girls in their swimsuits who Stephens was telling how to show him their gymnastics moves like pulling their legs up.

Throughout the defendants phone, we found numerous images of what is known as child erotica, said Assistant District Attorney Travis Warner, who tried the case for the prosecution along with Assistant District Attorney Abby Placke. Those images were of pre-pubescent girls dressed in lingerie posed in sexually provocative ways. While they were not child pornography, the pictures sexualized children in a way that should be offensive to everyone.

Swain said the computer was destroyed, and authorities could not salvage any videos.

As a concept, it can be difficult to find that something that was completely destroyed was evidence or contained evidence because, since it was destroyed, how would you know? Swain said. We were glad that the jury overcame that hurdle by looking at the circumstantial evidence surrounding the computers destruction. A defendant should not be allowed to benefit from destroying the evidence needed to convict them and our jury held Mr. Stephens accountable for doing exactly that.

Stephens wife recorded her husband in the garage.

On the video, Stephens wife can be heard telling him to stop and that he is only making things worse for himself.

He responds by saying, They got this as evidence, and Nobody has the right to look at someones camera.

But his wife responded, Did you have the right to look at somebodys child?

It's scary to think how long this old creep was doing the stuff he's done, perhaps even with actual children.

---

It's mind-boggling how obvious he had to be about everything before getting caught. Literally taking provocative photos of two random little girls, crap on the computer, etc. Like, wtf.

This shit pisses me off so fuckin much.

---

TULPAMANCER posted...

It's mind-boggling how obvious he had to be about everything before getting caught. Literally taking provocative photos of two random little girls, crap on the computer, etc. Like, wtf.

Especially at the end when you learn he has a wife. Im surprised he wasnt caught much sooner.

---

Humble_Novice posted...

The case began in May 2019 when Stephens son came home and found out his father had picked up two young girls from an elementary school under the guise that they were going to with his granddaughter.

The son became concerned when he released the granddaughter was not there and Stephens was taking pictures of the two girls posing provocatively in their swimsuits.

WTF. I think this story buried the fucking lead here.

---

Humble_Novice posted...

Stephens became enraged, pulled the computer out the wall and threw the computer against a brick fireplace before taking it out to the garage.

Once in the garage, Stephens grabbed a claw hammer and smashed the computer 24 times

Me after about three matches in Overwatch.

---

BeyondWalls posted...

Me after about three matches in Overwatch.

Idk if you want to read this particular story and be like "hey, dat's totally relatable!" lmao

---

Humble_Novice posted...

He will be eligible for parole in three years.

the fuck

---

I mean, there are definitely non obvious ways to destroy a HD. This dude really panicked and just took a hammer to the whole thing. Fuck him. 12 years isnt enough.

edit: lol his wife recorded it. Get rekt.

---

While this guys a piece of shit I have some questions here.

He destroyed the PC before the police arrived with a warrant? How can that be considered destruction of evidence?

BeyondWalls posted...

WTF. I think this story buried the fucking lead here.

Yeah no shit, that's quite a bit more serious than what the headline indicates. And he'll be eligible for parole in 3 years? Why did he not get charged with kidnapping?

---

Humble_Novice posted...

Those images were of pre-pubescent girls dressed in lingerie posed in sexually provocative ways. While they were not child pornography, the pictures sexualized children in a way that should be offensive to everyone.

Here's your daily reminder that it doesn't have to be "porn" to count as CP. This guy just got 12 years and he didn't have a single nude image.

Humble_Novice posted...

Swain said the computer was destroyed, and authorities could not salvage any videos.

That's pretty impressive in itself. Either these cops are idiots who didn't know how to pull a hard drive out or this guy really went to town on that computer.

---

BeyondWalls posted...

That's pretty impressive in itself. Either these cops are idiots who didn't know how to pull a hard drive out or this guy really went to town on that computer.

I mean, he took a hammer to it. Can't be that hard to smash through any casing to destroy the insides, or remove it before he smashed.
---

BeyondWalls posted...

WTF. I think this story buried the fucking lead here.

for whatever reason this tabloid thinks people are more likely to read a story about a guy trying to hide evidence over a guy who's actively abducting kids...

---

Funkydog posted...

I mean, he took a hammer to it. Can't be that hard to smash through any casing to destroy the insides, or remove it before he smashed.

Dude was 71. I'm assuming he didn't have a case with a glass window. Probably your standard sheet metal Dell case. The hard drive is at the front in the cage, that's a pretty tough spot. I wonder if this was actually a laptop he threw and destroyed.

---

BeyondWalls posted...

Dude was 71. I'm assuming he didn't have a case with a glass window. Probably your standard sheet metal Dell case. The hard drive is at the front in the cage, that's a pretty tough spot. I wonder if this was actually a laptop he threw and destroyed.

Oh there's a picture in the article. It's a stupid webp format though and I ain't converting it just to post it here. PC looks like a mini tower and he's got the door off. So he actually opened it up and started smashing it.

---

BeyondWalls posted...

Oh there's a picture in the article. It's a stupid webp format though and I ain't converting it just to post it here. PC looks like a mini tower and he's got the door off. So he actually opened it up and started smashing it.

they make browser extensions to convert it for you now.

---

Protip: don't leave evidence of destroying evidence.

XxKrebsxX posted...

While this guys a piece of shit I have some questions here.

He destroyed the PC before the police arrived with a warrant? How can that be considered destruction of evidence?

Yeah this whole thing will be overturned on appeal most likely. If there is no warrant out for his arrest, nor an active police investigation, then he can't be charged with destroying his own property. And then promotion of child pornography? What the hell does that even mean? The ADA is on record saying he didn't have child porn, so that is being thrown right out as he can't be guilty of something he didn't have no matter how much people don't like it.

Of course it's entirely possible that the courts just ignore the law and say fuck him and don't even bother listening to his appeals. That does happen often enough when it comes to these kinds of cases. It's also entirely fucked up that he wasn't charged for kidnapping. If I was the parents of those girls I would be suing the shit out of the DA's office.

---

SerperiorThanU posted...

Yeah, I'm surprised this geezer even knows how to use a computer let alone know how to access the dark web for something like this. Unless CP is a lot more accessible in Texas than I thought. Or he made them himself.

Well 30 years ago, not too far from the dotcom boom, he was only 41. He's had 30 years to learn.

---

Bump

---

SerperiorThanU posted...

Casual internet usage being mainstream was only around a decade ago.

...????

---

SerperiorThanU posted...

He must've been really into technology if he was using it since 30 years ago. Casual internet usage being mainstream was only around a decade ago.

A lot of adults had computers in the 90s. Wasnt that uncommon

XxKrebsxX posted...

While this guys a piece of shit I have some questions here.

He destroyed the PC before the police arrived with a warrant? How can that be considered destruction of evidence?

excuse me? You arent serious I hope?

Seeing how readily available it is, even on the clearnet, I'm afraid we'll be seeing similar news pop up more often.

There was an article about the FBI using a certain image board to "fish" for pedophiles by using actual child pornography pictures. I did some research on it for one of my classes a few years ago.

That site is still up, and there's still a lot of suggestive posts about children there.

---

i like how he was done in by his own closest family.

---

BeyondWalls posted...

Here's your daily reminder that it doesn't have to be "porn" to count as CP. This guy just got 12 years and he didn't have a single nude image.

That's pretty impressive in itself. Either these cops are idiots who didn't know how to pull a hard drive out or this guy really went to town on that computer.

uhh he took pics of the girls in provocative poses on his cell phone, and his son's testimony

---

But his wife responded, Did you have the right to look at somebodys child?

I hope that part stung. What a piece of shit.
---

JACKBUTTMOMMY posted...

Of course at least one user tried to argue that there was nothing wrong about sharing photos of underage people in swimsuits for sexual gratification.

Uhh... I like to say I'm surprised but unfortunately I am not.

---