LOS ANGELES — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Central), published as received.
LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury today returned a three-count indictment charging a former Culver City government employee who worked in an after-school recreation program with producing sexually explicit photographs of a 7-year-old girl enrolled in the after-school recreation program.
Stephen Michael Martinez, 44, of the Sawtelle neighborhood of Los Angeles, is charged with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Martinez has been in federal custody since July 23 and is being jailed without bond. His arraignment is scheduled for August 29 in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
According to the indictment and court documents previously filed in this case, Martinez was employed by the Culver City Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department as an after-school care employee for the Culver City Afterschool Recreation Program. He was employed by this program as a caretaker of young children from June 2020 to June 2025.
On July 14, law enforcement learned that Martinez, while working at the Culver City Afterschool Recreation Program, coerced a 7-year-old girl in his care into producing photos depicting the girl engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Police arrested Martinez on July 16 and booked him on suspicion of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a minor. Martinez was transferred to federal custody one week later.
An indictment contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted on all counts, Martinez would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Culver City Police Department are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher M. Mills of the Domestic Security and Immigration Crimes Section and Kelsey A. Stimson of the Major Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.
