Powell faces child porn count
Original conviction was for voyeurism
TACOMA – Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist on Monday reinstated a child pornography charge against Steven Powell that had been dismissed during a 2012 trial that ultimately resulted in him serving time for voyeurism.
Lindquist’s office said Powell was arrested Monday and would be arraigned this afternoon in Tacoma.
Powell, 64, was released from prison earlier this year after serving 30 months for his voyeurism convictions for shooting photos and video of two young neighbor girls using the bathroom. He is the father of Josh Powell, who killed his two young sons and himself in February 2012 in Graham while under investigation for the disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell, in Utah.
The judge in Steven Powell’s case had dismissed the child pornography charge during his trial because he found that the images did not constitute “sexually explicit conduct,” Lindquist’s office said. Lindquist appealed that decision, and in June, a Washington state court of appeals agreed with the prosecutor.
“Mr. Powell so grossly violated the privacy of his neighbors and his actions were so creepy we thought it was important, as a matter of principle and as a matter of accountability, to pursue these charges,” Lindquist told the Associated Press by phone.
Lindquist said the charge is a Class C felony and Powell faces up to five years in prison if convicted.