Trial begins for Boerne man accused of having child porn

By Guillermo Contreras

A Boerne man went on trial Monday on charges that he took pornographic pictures of a teenager — the same girl he was convicted of sexually abusing three years ago.

Steven Lynn Mouton, 57, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of producing and possessing child pornography.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wannarka said Mouton has been committing the crimes for years. “The only thing that could be worse than sexual assault of a child is to take pictures of it,” Wannarka said.

Mouton is a registered sex offender after being convicted of indecency with a child in 2006. In that state case, he got 10 years of probation, and the victim is the same girl now at the heart of the federal case, according to court records.

The federal case was opened in October 2007 because of a tip. Accompanied by a Kendall County Sheriff's Office investigator, officers looked in Mouton's laptop and found a photo of a girl's undressed lower body.

The sheriff's office gave the laptop and another computer seized from Mouton to San Antonio police forensics detectives. Their investigation turned up several images of child pornography. The sheriff's office then called in the FBI, which brought the federal case.

Wannarka said the images were of several children.

Mouton shook his head in disagreement Monday during various portions of testimony. His lawyer opted not to give an opening statement.

The trial before U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez could end as soon as today. If convicted, Mouton is likely to face prison time. The charges carry up to 20 years in prison.