Skamania man pleads guilty to producing child pornography

A registered sex offender currently jailed in Skamania County has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to producing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Steven Lee McBride, 51, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. However, under his plea agreement, the prosecution will not recommend a sentence of more than 25 years, and the defense will recommend no less than 18 years. McBride will be sentenced Oct. 26, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In 2007, McBride was convicted in Idaho of molesting two children younger than 16 and was required to register as a sex offender after receiving a 15-year state prison sentence. He moved to a residence in Skamania County following his early release from prison, the news release states.

There, McBride lived next door to a distant relative and befriended a local child. Between September 2017 and May 2019, he made sexually explicit images of the child by hiding a camera in a bathroom, molesting the child while they slept and posing as a school friend online to demand sexually explicit images, according to the news release.

McBride threatened to kill the child’s family if they did not comply with his demands, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement learned of the child pornography when investigators in Queensland, Australia, found that McBride was providing images online in their jurisdiction. An undercover officer contacted McBride and got additional information about the victim, the news release says.

The Vancouver Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations contacted the victim’s parent and arrested McBride on June 7, 2019.

McBride is also charged in Skamania County Superior Court with molesting the child. Prosecutors says his state and federal sentences will run concurrently.