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Child porn convict in trouble again

By Times Staff
Published May 18, 2006

FLORAL CITY - Three years ago, John R. Steele was accused of possessing child pornography. He served a short prison sentence and then went on probation.

Now Steele is in trouble again. Officials say he violated probation by possessing sexually explicit material: nude photos of a woman and a "soft porn" video, according to a court record.

Steele, 54, of Floral City is scheduled to be in court Friday for a hearing. He has pleaded not guilty to the probation violation charge.

During an April 2 visit to Steele's home, a probation official reported finding two picture CDs that included nude photos of a woman. Also, a video cassette in the VCR featured "soft porn" programming, the report said.

Steele is serving sex offender probation which, among other conditions, prohibits him from possessing obscene, pornographic or sexually stimulating material, according to a court record.

He pleaded no contest to the child pornography charges in August 2004. His sentence: Fifteen months in prison and then five years of probation.

In other news:

--John Couey is scheduled to be in court at 8:30 a.m. Friday for a status hearing in his murder case.

Earlier this week, his defense team filed a bevy of motions, including one seeking to suppress his confession.

Couey, 47, is accused of abducting, sexually assaulting and killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.

--The next hearing for William Thornton will be at 9 a.m. June 21.

Thornton, 18, is seeking to withdraw his plea to two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of driving without a license.

He is serving a 30-year prison term.

[Last modified May 18, 2006, 01:40:19]