Former Richland special ed teacher convicted of molesting student arrested for child porn
A former Richland special education teacher previously convicted of molesting a student has been arrested on suspicion of dealing and possessing child pornography.
Steven Michael Diaz, 41, was booked into the Franklin County jail on Monday on suspicion of 15 counts of child pornography related charges.
Officers estimated there were more than 40 gigabytes of pornographic videos sent from the Snapchat account, according to court documents. That would equal about 13 hours of high-definition video.
During a Tuesday court appearance, Benton Franklin Superior Court Judge Jackie Stam ordered that Diaz have no contact with minors and no internet access if he does post bail.
Diaz, a Level 2 registered sex offender in Washington, is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.
An order setting conditions if he was able to post bail indicates he is likely to face five felony charges: two counts of first-degree possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, two counts of first-degree dealing in depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
Diaz has a prior conviction for communication with a minor for immoral purposes as part of that 2016 child molestation case, according to court records. He’d been investigated on suspicion of sex crimes twice before that, according to court records.
Child porn
On April 3, Snapchat reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a user going by “stevend2422” uploaded a file flagged as containing child sexual abuse material.
The information associated with the account identified the account’s owner as Diaz using a cellphone number registered to a Richland address, according to court documents. He also allegedly used a second account, without part of his name, which was linked to his email address.
Diaz’s current address was listed as a home on the 2100 block of North 18th Avenue in Pasco.
That information was forwarded to the Pasco Police Department and an investigation was opened. Over the next few months Pasco police obtained a search warrant and worked with Snapchat to retrieve an archive of images and videos shared by the accounts linked to Diaz.
In the conversations between Diaz and other Snapchat users, both parties acknowledge the girls are underage.
They also located a conversation with Diaz allegedly claiming to be 17 years old communicating with a user who said they were a 16-year-old girl. He allegedly talked to the girl about sex and offered to pay her for nude images and videos.
The documents say officers uncovered a wide array of nude photos and videos of prepubescent girls, some engaged in sexual acts. Several of the children were estimated to be between 10 and 12 years old.
After reviewing materials shared by the account, Pasco police believed they had probable cause to arrest Diaz on suspicion of 15 charges related to possession and dealing of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit activity
He is expected back in court later this month.
History of sex crimes
In 2016, Diaz was sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison for grooming and molesting a girl in his class when he was a teacher at Richland High School.
Diaz allegedly began communicating with the student through her class journal and later sent sexual emails. He molested the girl at least four times, according to investigators.
The school principal was told by students in May 2015 that Diaz was having an inappropriate relationship with a then 15-year-old girl. The victim had been moved to his class in late 2014.
He pleaded guilty to third-degree child molestation and communicating with a minor.
Diaz did not admit any wrongdoing, but told a community corrections officer that he pleaded guilty on the advice of his lawyer after seeing the evidence prosecutors had, according to court records. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to participate in a sex offender treatment program.
He also previously taught in Othello, Wash., and Gamble, Alaska.
In 2002, when Diaz was 19, a 12-year-old boy reported to police that Diaz showed a sexual video of himself and that Diaz also threatened to rape to him, according to Herald archives.
Then in 2014, a woman reported that Diaz raped her at a park after they met at a bar, court documents said. No criminal charges were filed in either case.
The community corrections officer reported to the court that, “It appears Diaz has long-term sexual deviancy issues ...”
