Former New Found Glory rhythm guitarist Steve Klein has been convicted of felony indecent exposure, following a plea deal to avoid jail time for various sexual misconduct charges that were brought forward in 2014. Klein originally faced five felony counts of lewd acts on a child, a count each of contact with intent to commit a sex offense and possession of child pornography, which were all waived as part of this plea agreement.
This conviction was handed down at the San Luis Obispo Superior Court on February 9. If Klein complies with the conditions of his parole for a year, his charges will be dropped to a misdemeanor.
Klein will not face any jail time, however he was sentenced to two years of formal probation and will be forced to be registered as a sex offender for at least a decade. His charges stem from alleged sexual two-way video chats that allegedly involved Klein and allegedly underaged girls. Video of the chats were reportedly found on an external hard drive found in Klein’s former Atascadero, California home.
Klein’s ex-wife reportedly found the hard drive after filing for divorce in 2012, and admitted to looking at its contents to see if Klein was having an affair. According to the court prosecutor, these videos allegedly show Klein masturbating and encouraging two females to remove clothes and touch themselves. While the females in question were not identified, the prosecution called on pediatrician Dr. Nisha Abdul Cader as their expert witness on sexual maturity. According to Cader’s estimates, the females were between 9 and 16 years old based on their physical development.
Klein was dropped from New Found Glory following the original charges in 2014, but Klein is reportedly an active songwriter. “He’s still writing great songs. He’s still writing great music,” his attorney Ilan Funke-Bilu said in a statement. “I think the future will be even better now that he can put this case behind him.”
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