A jury has found 61-year-old Mammoth resident Steven Lee Wintersteen guilty of travelling across state lines for the purpose of having sex with an eight year old girl along with possession of child pornography.

stevewintersteen10The FBI alleged that the man had been in contact with a cooperating witness by the internet and by cell phone. Wintersteen was arrested at the airport in Oklahoma City on November 8, after making arrangements to meet the cooperating witness and her eight year old daughter.

According to the FBI, Wintersteen told the witness that he had sexual relations with his daughter when 13, and Asians very young.

FBI agents were waiting for Wintersteen when he stepped off the plane in Oklahoma City. During an FBI interview, agents report that Wintersteen described his journey as an adventure, to find out whether the woman or child were, real. The woman was an FBI informant, the eight year old was made up.

According to Department of Justice officials, Wintersteen had at one point sent the FBI informant a picture of himself wearing only a Santa hat, and told the woman that he could not wait to show the little one ‘Santa’ wearing only boots and a hat.

When the man was arrested at the airport, officials say that his baggage included a Santa Claus hat, a stuffed animal purchased from the Reno airport gift shop, three different types of erectile dysfunction pills, a camera, and a laptop computer containing child pornography.

Wintersteen was not accused of any crime in the Eastern Sierra, but until the arrest the man had been a resident of Mammoth and Mammoth Police assisted the FBI in searching the mans residence on Joaquin St.

On Thursday, a federal jury found Wintersteen guilty of travelling across state lines for the purpose of having sex with an eight year old girl along with possession of child pornography. He faces up to 30 years for the travelling charge and 20 years for the two child pornography charges. Sentencing should occur within the next 90 days.


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