Redmond man sentenced to nearly 2 years in prison for online sexual corruption of a child

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Jackson County District Attorney’s Office announced that a Redmond man, Steven Newstrom, was sentenced to 22 months in prison for one count of first-degree online sexual corruption of a child.

The charge against Newstrom stemmed from a Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) joint interagency task force operation that started in January of 2024, using undercover law enforcement officers posing as minors online. Newstrom was arrested at his home in Redmond.

During the operation, Newstrom started communicating with a Jackson County Sheriff’s Office detective posing as a 15-year-old girl in early January 2024.

During the conversations that continued for several weeks, it was made clear to Mr. Newstrom that he was communicating with a 15-year-old juvenile. Nevertheless, during those weeks, he repeatedly sent sexually explicit messages and requests of sexual activities he wished to perform with the child. This investigation culminated with Mr.Newstrom’s arrest on March 13, 2024, in Redmond, Oregon, where he resides.

Before his arrest, he expressed a desire to meet the child in person and agreed to meet the child at a location in the area. At that time, Mr. Newstrom believed the child happened to be in town for a volleyball tournament, and offered to come to one of the games to see her. He messaged, “If you tell me where and when I will come see you, but we won’t let anyone know.”

Law enforcement instead proposed a meeting in a parking lot a nearby Starbucks, which Newstrom agreed to. When Mr. Newstrom arrived there, law enforcement was waiting and quickly took him into custody. Mr. Newstom’s phone was seized from him and later analyzed, which confirmed he was the one sending the messages.

At a contested sentencing hearing on July 14, 2025, the Jackson County District Attorney Patrick Green argued for Mr. Newstrom to be sentenced to 22 months prison, which is the maximum allowable sentence under the Oregon sentencing rules for this offense. The defense argued for a probationary sentence.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Christine Herbert followed the District Attorney’s Office’s recommendation and sentenced Mr. Newstrom to 22 months prison, with 3 years post-prison supervision, and a requirement that he register as a sex offender.

The Jackson County District Attorney’s Office also announced this afternoon that Mark Harding was sentenced on July 17, 2025 on five counts of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, which arose from law enforcement’s discovery that he was in possession of, viewing, and duplicating multiple images of child pornography.

On March 21, 2022, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a report regarding a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding possession of child pornography. The report detailed that several images of verified child exploitation material had been detected on an online account. Through an extensive investigation, detectives were able to develop Harding as a suspect. Detectives with the Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) obtained and executed a search warrant for Mr. Harding’s residence and ultimately recovered devices and online accounts containing approximately 800 images/videos of child pornography, as well as evidence that Mr. Harding had been sharing child pornography with others online.

At a contested hearing on July 17, 2025, the Jackson County Chief Deputy District Attorney Alyssa Claseman argued for Mr. Harding to be sentenced to a prison sentence due to the nature of the charges. The defense argued for a probationary sentence due to several factors, including Mr. Harding’s remorse and engagement in treatment since he was arrested.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Paul Moser sentenced Mr. Harding to three years of supervised probation and required Harding to register as a sex offender, with the understanding that if Mr. Harding is not successful on probation he will be sentenced to prison.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, United States federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor (a person less than 18 years old).

Outside of the legal system, NCMEC chooses to refer to these images as Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) to most accurately reflect what is depicted – the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Not only do these images and videos document victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when these files are shared across the internet, child victims suffer re-victimization each time the image of the sexual abuse is viewed. In a recent survey, 67% of CSAM survivors said the distribution of their images impacts them differently than the hands-on abuse they suffered because the distribution never ends and the images are permanent.