Dyess airman pleads not guilty to federal child pornography charges

Editor’s note: This news story contains information about alleged child sexual abuse. If you know or suspect that anyone under 18 is being sexually or physically abused, call the Texas child abuse hotline at 1-800-252-5400. To learn more about how to identify signs of child abuse or neglect, click here.

A Dyess Air Force Base airman pleaded not guilty in Abilene federal court Thursday to two felony counts of accessing child pornography with intent to view.

Steven Patrick Breen of North Carolina was arrested on a warrant May 16 following a federal grand jury indictment and a probe into allegations against him by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

Breen was booked into Taylor County Jail that day and released to the custody of another agency May 21, according to online jail records.

It was unclear Friday where Breen was being detained. Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court beyond a reasonable doubt.

In the Abilene courtroom for the U.S. Northern District of Texas, Breen came before U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker Thursday to plead not guilty and have a detention hearing.

The court heard arguments from Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Tusing and defense attorney Aaron Eckman regarding Breen's detention or release.

Tusing told the judge that Breen should remain in custody until trial because of the content of the child pornography, his alleged intent to trade or distribute it, and the length of time he has allegedly had access to it.

According to Air Force OSI reports, the office opened up an investigation after receiving a tip about a Dropbox video involving sexually explicit content with a female minor, Tusing said.

Through search warrants, Air Force OSI discovered two Dropbox accounts allegedly linked to Breen with visual depictions of child sexual abuse, Tusing said.

In one Dropbox account, over 110 videos contained sexually explicit conduct with children, including three videos showing "sadomashichistic" behavior and bondage, Tusing said.

The second Dropbox account had an estimated 80 visual depictions and six videos of sexual behavior with infants and toddlers, Tusing said.

While in custody, Breen waived his rights to Article 15 actions. They are nonjudicial disciplinary procedures meted out by commanders in the U.S. military.

He allegedly said he traded Dropbox URLs and watched child pornography for a "significant period of time" since he was 12-14 years old, Tusing said.

Eckman said that even though there was no doubt the charges were a serious offense, no firearm was involved in the alleged crime, and Breen has had no other prior law-enforcement contact.

If his detention was discontinued, Breen would be monitored by the Air Force and his parents who were flying in from North Carolina, Eckman said.

In addition to being monitored, Breen would agree to not have access to devices, and he would be given a flip-phone style cellphone, Eckman said.

Tusing said there are no existing regulations in place for the Air Force to monitor Breen, and the prosecutor brought up other allegations of intent to produce child sexual abuse material with a 17-year-old female.

Parker addressed Breen about a statement he made during the presentencing investigation regarding treatment not being helpful to correct his alleged behavior.

Parker also said he found comments made by Breen's mother "disturbing" and "highly offensive" as she suggested the alleged production of child pornography could be blamed on some promiscuous teenage girl.

"And that's the person I'm supposed to trust you to?" the judge said.

Restriction of devices would not stop the behavior, and people allegedly involved in sexual crimes with minors are sophisticated in the art of deception, Parker said.

The judge ordered Breen to be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until his trial date.

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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Dyess airman pleads not guilty to child pornography charges