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Jury finds Stiles guilty on all 22 counts
Trial set for next month on federal charges, sentencing scheduled for May 6
Justin M. Bowen
Chester Stiles awaits the verdict Tuesday afternoon in Clark County District Court. He was found guilty on all counts.
Published Tuesday, March 3, 2009 | 2:38 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, March 3, 2009 | 7:27 p.m.
Sun archives
- Jury begins deliberations in Stiles molestation case (3-2-09)
- Jurors watch graphic tape in toddler sex case (2-27-09)
- Ex-girlfriend says she saw Stiles in girl’s bedroom (2-26-09)
- Man describes videotape that prompted search for Stiles (2-25-09)
- Girl’s parents testify in trial of accused rapist (2-24-09)
- Girl, 11, testifies in trial of accused rapist (2-23-09)
- Jurors in child sex case to hear opening statements Monday (2-20-09)
- Jury selected in child video sex case (2-19-09)
- Trial begins in Las Vegas toddler video sex case (2-18-09)
Emotion never crossed the face of Chester A. Stiles on Tuesday as the word "guilty" was read aloud 22 times.
He was convicted on 10 counts of lewdness with a child under the age of 14, 11 counts of sexual assault with a minor under 14, and one count of attempted sexual assault with a minor under 14 for sexually molesting two young girls in 2003.
He videotaped himself molesting one girl, who was 2 years old at the time. The other girl, then 6, testified in court last week in front of her abuser.
Prosecutors on Tuesday said the mothers of both victims are pleased with the verdicts. The names of the victims and family members involved in the case are being withheld because the Las Vegas Sun generally doesn't identify victims of sexual abuse.
The jury of nine men and three women got the case after six days of testimony in Clark County District Court. As expected, Stiles didn’t take the stand. His attorneys called no witnesses.
Stiles is staring at a lifetime behind bars. Sentencing is scheduled for May 8.
As the verdicts were read, Stiles, his hair slicked back and wearing a tan shirt, stared straight ahead. He stood when the courtroom was adjourned and placed his hands behind his back, although he wasn’t handcuffed before being escorted out of the courtroom.
Deputy District Attorney James Sweetin said he was satisfied with the verdict.
“I believe justice was done in this case,” he said. “It speaks for itself.”
Stiles' defense attorneys are planning to appeal.
"We are disappointed by guilty verdicts on all counts," public defender Stacey Roundtree said. "We filed numerous pre-trial motions and made numerous objections during the trial so we do feel that we have a number of issues on appeal."
Stiles also faces federal charges of producing child pornography, which could carry a sentence of 15 to 30 years in federal prison. That trial is set for April 6 in Las Vegas.
Jurors left the courtroom Tuesday as a group and declined to comment on the case to the media.
Deliberations began at about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday after closing arguments wrapped up Monday evening. Jurors deliberated about four hours and verdicts were read at about 2:30 p.m.
Prosecutors said they had seen few cases with clearer evidence and were confident the evidence and pretrial rulings could withstand any scrutiny they might receive on appeal.
Sweetin and his co-counsel, Deputy District Attorney Mary Kay Holthus, pointed out that Stiles never denied molesting either girl.
Sweetin echoed District Court Judge Jennifer P. Togliatti, who presided over the trial, when he said the videotape was child pornography in its clearest form. He and Holthus said it was a hard case for anybody to be a part of.
"Some cases need to be tried," Holthus said.
Stiles has been in custody since he was arrested during a routine traffic stop in Henderson in October 2007.
The first three charges against Stiles were tied to the girl who is now 11 years old and wasn't videotaped during the assault. Charges four through 22 are related to the 2-year-old girl on videotape. Her case prompted a national manhunt after the tape was found in the desert and police released images to identify the man and the girl.
Stiles had pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Stiles showed no emotion throughout the trial. He never testified, and spoke only once when he blurted out "it's all taken out of context" when Sweetin was going over letters Stiles had written to former girlfriend Susan Windrem.
His voice was heard in a jailhouse phone call made to a woman identified during testimony as Elaine Thomas.
"So, I kinda hold her a little responsible for the person I am, the negative ... you know, sexually twisted person that, you know, that some people think I am," he says about his mother. "You know, it's kinda easy to be that when you're, you know, treated like (expletive) garbage at such a young age.
"The things they said, the things that that videotape shows ain't nothin' compared to what I've, what I've had done to me, you know what I mean?"
The videotape was a key piece of evidence in the prosecution's case. Jurors watched it Friday evening in a courtroom that had been cleared except for court personnel and five reporters.
In the videotape, a man who witnesses and jurors identified as Stiles is seen performing sex acts on a 2-year-old girl. In the tape, he calls the girl by her name.
The tape was turned over to authorities by Darrin Tuck, then 26, of Pahrump. Prosecutors in closing arguments Monday said a DVD copy of the video found in Stiles' storage unit further linked the tape to Stiles.
Roundtree argued that the tape might have been technologically altered and raised questions about its origin. The jury, apparently, didn't buy it.
Sweetin said the two young girls have one "horrible" thing in common: Chester Stiles.
In letters and phone calls, Stiles referred to himself as a "monster" and, on several occasions, referenced being sexually abused as a child.
"Please! Please let all guilt die with me,” he wrote before signing his name to a letter.
He remains at the Clark County Detention Center.
Discussion: 22 comments so far…
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The article doesnt say if a guilty verdict was reached. Bad reporting..............!
There is a delay from the time a verdict is announced to when the verdict is read in court.
He should fry
Woot! Have fun in general population dude.
He will never see a day in general population. He will most likely spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement in the SHU at Elko. All at the taxpayers expense. Best recourse is to turn him loose in general population and fend for himself which should take all of 30 seconds at the most and he will be a bad memory.
YES!!!!! I am so freakin happy! Burn baby burn.
Scum with zero self control.
Hey Chester heres your new roommate, Jo Jo Bubba Junior and thats not a baseball bat he's got in his hand !!
This is the worst story I've ever heard and I'll never be able to erase it from my mind. This man does not deserve to live. How the children were in that situation to begin with is something else to think about. There should be more people in the world like the ones who were involved with the capture of this man.
Take care of your children.
Comment removed by staff.
Nietzsche wrote, " The criminologists tell us the typical criminal is ugly: monstrum in fronte, monstrum in animo(a monster in face, and a monster in soul)."
Chester is a monster in all respects.
Moral: Don't let strangers in your house.
pDub, you are absolutely correct in pointing out "how the children were in this situation to begin with is something else to think about."
Another of Southern Nevada's social ills is generally horrible parenting skills.
gmag39 -- Nice to see the voice of reason here, except I wonder what your standard is for "parenting skills."
As a parent it just goes with the territory to be suspicious of any adult showing extra interest in my child. So little is mentioned of the victim(s)' father through these reports, one must wonder what his actual take on all this is.
pDub -- "There should be more people in the world like the ones who were involved with the capture of this man." You can't be serious. They bungled it all from beginning to end, especially Metro. Only the highly unlikely event of the right evidence popping up in the desert revived the case. And there's still the big questions of the authenticity of that tape and its finder.
Starrynite7, your anger must blind you from seeing anything clearly. You *almost* got that Nietzsche quote right. It's from "Twilight of the Idols; And, The Anti-Christ: And, The Anti-Christ," the subchapter titled "The Problem of Socrates." The full quote:
"Ugliness is frequently enough the sign of a thwarted development, a development *retarded* by interbreeding. Otherwise it appears as a development in *decline*. Anthropologists among the criminologists tell us the typical criminal is ugly: *monstrum in fronte, monstrum in animo*. But the criminal is *decadent*. Was Socrates a typical criminal? - At least the famous physiognomist's opinion which Socrates' friends found so objectionable would not contradict this idea. A foreigner passing through Athens who knew how to read faces told Socrates to his face that he was a monstrum - that he contained within him every kind of foul vice and lust. And Socrates answered merely: 'You know me, sir!' -"
Or an ugly face = criminal. And according to you and the rest of this forum's lynch mob, accused of criminal = guilty.
Socrates is still revered by many today, including me, even 2,600 years after he was executed for "corrupting" Athens youth. You should all read Plato's "Apology" and "Crito" to get some perspective on the true nature of institutional justice.
Nietzsche should also be required reading, beginning with "Beyond Good and Evil" or "The Genealogy of Morals." He puts institutionalized religion in its true perspective.
What! Killer sympathizing and emphasizing with a Child Molester? Color me surprised. You are well-read Killer, did you spend a lot of time...alone..reading...in a cell?
If you consider people who are really, really happy that a child molester is found guilty on 22 counts of sexual deviancy,a lynch mob then count me in! I am thrilled he will be off the street. He had his trial and he lost...big time.
starrynite -- until you can get something right, and looked up "slander," I again suggest you back off.
Comment removed by staff.
Starrynight - by jove you've got it! You know that people even on death row have internet access - check out Debra Milke - awaiting execution (laughable) for 15 yrs. already in Arizona for orchestrating the murder of her 5 yr old son in the Phoenix desert - so it wouldn't surprise me any to find Stiles himself here posting under some law-abiding name like 'rapist', murdererer', 'killer' etc etc. I think you get the picture.
And here we go again with the 'slander' threat - actually, if it's in writing it's LIBEL - so at least get the threat correct will ya?
azsk8fan,
I've wanted to point that out for a bit. Thank you. Also in the US it is extremely difficult to sue for either libel or slander and get a favorable decision. Wow, for someone who's huge on constitutional freedoms he sure doesn't care for them when it suits him.
redferret -- If you actually knew anything about Constitutional protections, you'd know the protection is only from state restraint.
You've shown here you can't tell the difference between a personal attack and lively commentary. Before you comment again I recommend you click on that "Full commentary policy" link to the right of that little box you type in. Check out the last two bullets.
I have no intention of suing anyone. Experience has taught me court is a complete waste of time and money.
Well I'm still pointing out that you can't tell the difference between slander and libel, both of which are difficult to prove and win legally in America. You are the one crying slander left and right.
FYI freedom of speech is for individuals. Unless of course you are operating on a pre 14th amendment version of the constitution. In which case yes the first amendment would be a majoritarian protections versus an individual/libertarian one. But then again I'm sure you knew that.
Redferret: Of Killerman knew that, why he knows everything about everything, just listen to him rant and rave about Chester, I am surprised he hasn't defended the person that raped the 70 year-old-woman. She must have been wearing something sexy and brought the attack on herself. You know how the old women act on the streets.