Thaindian News

OKLAHOMA CITY (BNO NEWS) — A federal jury in Oklahoma City on Thursday convicted a Mammoth Lakes, California man of interstate travel for the purpose of having sex with an eight-year-old girl, prosecutors said. He was also convicted of possessing child pornography.

Steven Lee Wintersteen, 62, was arrested on November 8, 2009 after attempting to meet a woman he believed had an eight-year-old girl.

According to evidence submitted during the trial, Wintersteen met an Oklahoma City-area woman in October 2009 through a matchmaking website for individuals who are interested in “unusual” sexual experiences. He sought contact with the woman via the website’s e-mail system, and described himself as an “older daddy” looking for a “daddy’s girl” for a long term relationship. He said he was a retired firefighter, police officer, minister and school teacher.

Wintersteen and the woman began corresponding via Yahoo! Instant Messenger, and he asked the age of the woman’s daughter. She told him the girl was eight, even though she did in fact not have a daughter.

Wintersteen resembled Santa Claus because of his white hair and beard and, using Instant Messaging photo sharing, sent the woman a picture of himself naked — except for a Santa Claus hat — and told the woman that he could not wait to show the “little one” “Santa” wearing only boots and a hat. Over the course of many phone calls, instant messages, and text messages, Wintersteen told the woman in explicit detail that he wanted to have sex with her daughter, and he made plans to travel to Oklahoma City for a four-day visit. In reality, the woman was cooperating with the FBI and recorded all of her communications with him.

On November 8, according to the court, Wintersteen drove to the Reno, Nevada airport where he boarded a flight to Oklahoma City. When he arrived at Will Rogers World Airport late that night, he was greeted by law enforcement. 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 found guilty of traveling from Reno, Nevada to Oklahoma City for the purpose of having sex with a girl he believed to be eight-years-old and one count of possession of child pornography. The jury found him not guilty on two counts of possessing child porn.

A sentencing date has not yet been set. Wintersteen faces up to 30 years in prison on the travel count and up to 10 years in prison on the possession of child porn count. He also faces a fine up to $250,000.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Oklahoma City Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and Randy Sengel.