A Santa Clarita man who was also a former Navy SEAL was sentenced to 20 years in prison for producing child sex abuse material.
Robert Quido Stella, 51, of Canyon Country, was found guilty of secretly filming minor victims in the nude with hidden cameras, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In 2021, Homeland Security Investigations received a tip that Stella had accessed a dark web child porn website.
During a July 15, 2021, investigation, authorities found “collections” of child sex abuse material on Stella’s computer and two external hard drives. Some of the files had been hidden in digital folders with fake labels such as “federal contracts” and “tax returns,” officials said.
Investigators also found hidden cameras, including one disguised as a USB charging block. Prosecutors said Stella used those hidden cameras to film underage victims as they undressed to shower and used the bathroom.
Agents later discovered 17 videos and over 100 screenshots taken from the hidden cameras that showed footage of underage victims naked and partially undressed. Those images were hidden under “multi-level digital folder structures on a hard drive bearing misleading titles such as ‘course work,’” prosecutors said.
Stella was arrested in July 2021 and has been in custody since. In April 2023, he pleaded guilty to charges of access with intent to view child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography.
After a four-day trial in May 2023, a jury found Stella guilty of three counts of production of child pornography. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
This case was a part of Project Safe Childhood which is a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to “combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.” More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found here.