EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A registered sex offender is facing a charge of possession of child pornography after officials found several sexual images on his phone of underage girls, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.
Court documents say Stephen Jerome Roder, 31, is facing the charge after officers went through his phone and found over 50 sexual images depicting children.
According to court documents, Roder was recently staying at the El Paso Multi-Use Facility which is a facility known to house sex offenders.
Roder was previously convicted of aggravated assault of a child back in 2020, according to court documents.
On Saturday, Dec. 13, a parole officer met with El Paso County deputies and said that she was advised by facility officials about Roder having sexual images on his phone.
Deputies then met with officials who work at the facility, who said that Roder’s phone was initially confiscated and placed in an evidence locker when he was arrested earlier that month.
An official told deputies that Roder’s phone kept going off every five minutes, which led to him unlocking the phone, according to court documents.
After unlocking the phone, the official found several sexual images of children, which led to him telling Roder’s parole officer, according to court documents.
The official told deputies that due to Roder being a registered sex offender, the official “wanted to make sure” that there was nothing on Roder’s phone in reference to child pornography, contraband, or anything illegal, according to court documents.
Law enforcement then obtained a search warrant to have a “forensic data extraction” on Roder’s phone, which led to the confirmation of Roder being in possession of child pornography.
Roder was then booked on Tuesday, Jan. 14, into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a $100,000 bond.
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