ST. LOUIS – A Hannibal, Missouri, man appeared in federal court on Thursday to be sentenced for hiding a camera in a bathroom in order to record video and images of a young girl.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Stephen A. Marquez, 35, admitted using a video camera disguised as a cell phone charger in a bathroom to capture the videos and images. He also saved videos of the girl on his iPhone.
The victim was 13 and 14 years old at the time.
Prosecutors said the victim went to law enforcement in August 2022 to report that Marquez had been sexually abusing her since she was 9 or 10. She also told authorities that he’d recorded her while in the shower multiple times.
The victim said she was scared Marquez would hurt her during the abuse and that she’d been afraid to report it.
Marquez pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of attempted production of child pornography.
A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Marquez to 25 years in federal prison.
