Ex-New Found Glory Guitarist Convicted Of Indecent Exposure In Child Porn Case
Former New Found Glory guitarist Steve Klein has been convicted of felony indecent exposure after accepting a plea agreement in a case that began over six years ago, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports. In 2014, Klein was charged with five felony counts of lewd acts on a child, one count of contact with intent to commit a sex offense, and one count of possession of child pornography stemming from two-way chat room videos involving underage girls found on an external hard drive at his home.
Klein was the founding rhythm guitarist and primary lyricist for New Found Glory until late 2013. “Upon our return from Warped Tour Australia, Steve made us aware of possible allegations that might be made against him,” the band wrote in a statement after the initial announcement of criminal charges. “At that point, not knowing all the details, we made the decision to part ways in order for him to deal with these personal issues.”
The case came to the attention of authorities when Klein’s now ex-wife found video of Klein masturbating on camera while chatting with young girls and called the police. All other charges were dismissed after Klein pleaded no contest to felony indecent exposure in a trial-setting conference last month; a formal sentencing will take place next Tuesday. Under the terms of his plea deal, Klein will be sentenced to two years of formal probation and will be required to register as a sex offender for at least 10 years. He will not serve any jail time.