A 74-year-old Kingwood man has been slapped with a hefty prison sentence for his crimes involving child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office said yesterday. Stephen Philip Keller, who already had a prior conviction for soliciting a minor back in 2001, will now spend the next ten years behind bars after pleading guilty to charges of accessing and possessing child porn.
Keller threw in the towel and admitted his guilt on Nov. 27, 2023, facing up to one count of accessing with intent to view child pornography and possession of it. According to a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the court was reminded during his plea that the defendant is a repeat offender. Judge Andrew S. Hanen is the one who laid down the two concurrent 120-month sentences in federal court.
Investigators first got onto Keller's sick trail in March 2021, when he participated in a web video meeting that showed more than 20 minutes of child pornography. Upon raiding his residence in February 2022, authorities found Keller had a stash of explicit images on his cell phone and confessed to lapping up child porn through several web meetings and encrypted messages.
Despite his age, Keller will now find his freedom stripped away as he awaits transfer to a federal lock-up. The FBI, with a hand from the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office, spearheaded the investigation that brought Keller down. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Bauman took the reins in the prosecution of this case, which falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative sharpening the government's blade against child exploitation since 2006.
The merciless judgement also includes 15 years of supervised release once Keller exits prison, with tight restrictions to keep him away from kids and curb his internet usage.
