Steven Michael Celani, 60, a Pontiac resident on supervised release, is back in custody after probation officers say they uncovered a hidden cellphone in his bedroom that federal investigators report contained more than 200 images and videos of child sexual abuse. Court records describe material showing prepubescent girls and at least one video of an apparent sexual assault. Celani was charged in late March and remained temporarily detained this month, with a preliminary examination set for next Wednesday.
How investigators say the phone was found
According to investigators, probation officers were conducting a routine compliance check on March 5 when they found a gray Motorola phone tucked “behind a stack of books” in Celani’s bedroom. An initial review of the device turned up material that officers say met the federal definition of child pornography, prompting them to alert the FBI, ClickOnDetroit reports.
The phone was turned over to federal agents on March 12. A federal judge later approved a search warrant, which the FBI executed on March 19. Celani was formally charged on March 30, temporarily detained last Thursday and remains in custody pending the April 22 preliminary examination.
What investigators say was on the device
During an initial FBI review, agents say they located more than 200 images “which meet the federal definition of child pornography” on the hidden phone, according to court records cited by ClickOnDetroit. Investigators say some of the files were stored in an explicit folder and that at least ten of the images or videos focused on the genital areas of young girls.
One roughly one-minute video is described in the complaint as showing an adult male sexually assaulting an approximately 9-year-old girl. Many of the files on the device are dated beginning in October 2024, according to the court filings.
Background and registry listings
Public sex offender records list Celani as having been convicted in August 2018 on a child-pornography-related charge, and he remains registered in Michigan. Online registry entries also show a work address in Oxford. Court documents note that his supervised release included a search condition allowing probation officers to inspect his residence, the provision that cleared the way for the compliance check and the discovery of the phone.
Legal exposure and next steps
Under federal law, possession of child pornography can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. That maximum can rise to 20 years when the material involves prepubescent minors, and the law allows enhanced mandatory minimums in cases involving certain prior convictions, according to Cornell Law School.
At the preliminary examination next Wednesday, a judge will weigh whether there is sufficient cause to bind the case over for trial. Any eventual sentence would depend on the specific charges that are proven and how federal sentencing guidelines are applied. For now, the case remains pending in federal court, and filings at the April 22 hearing are expected to determine whether the matter moves forward to trial and to add further details to the public record.
