A convicted sex offender arrested last month on charges of sexually abusing a 6-year-old child now faces federal counts of producing child pornography.
Steven Ahders, 29, of Brandywine Avenue, was indicted by a federal grand jury this week on two counts of producing and possessing images of child pornography.
Ahders was first arrested last month. Authorities accused him of abusing the child between September 2006 and June 2007.
Authorities then said Ahders admitted to taking photographs of the child, but authorities had yet to find them.
Those images were apparently found on Ahders’ cellphone, a Sprint Treo PDA device, according to the federal indictment.
If convicted on the counts, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in federal prison, officials said.
The federal charges are expected to be prosecuted alongside state charges in Schenectady County Court.
Ahders faces a state count of predatory sexual assault against a child, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 25 years-to-life in state prison if convicted.
Ahders knew the child after meeting the child’s mother through personal ads two years ago, Assistant Schenectady County District Attorney Andra Ackerman said previously.
The child disclosed the abuse late last year, Ackerman said, describing it as “horrific” and “the worst of the worst.”
Ahders was listed on the state sex offender registry as a Level 1 offender, which is considered the lowest risk of reoffending.
Ahders previously served federal prison time related to a 2001 conviction on a child pornography possession count. He admitted then to using his home computer to trade nude images of children and other people and advertised the service in an Internet chat room.
Ahders remained in the Schenectady County Jail without bail on Thursday.
Categories: Schenectady County
