As we told you earlier this evening, former New Found Glory guitarist Steve Klein pled not guilty to charges including “two counts of lewd conduct with a minor under the age of 14, three counts of lewd conduct with a minor 14 or 15, one count of intent to commit lewd acts with a minor and one count of possession of child pornography” in San Luis Obispo Superior Court last December.
News of the arrest spread quickly, and prompted a lengthy response/rebuttal from his attorney, displayed first on Absolute Punk. As you might imagine, Klein is “Steve is devastated by these accusations.” The attorney adds that Klein “has lost his band, his livelihood, and his ex-wife continues to push for full custody of his children using this case as her pawn while he literally fights for his life.”
Check out the full statement below. We’ll keep you posted as this one develops.
“It is a difficult challenge to defend oneself in the media when there is a pending criminal case. This is because people are quick to assume that if a person is charged with a crime, they are also guilty as charged. And it is especially difficult because criminal defense attorneys insist that their clients not talk about the case to ensure that their constitutional rights are protected. Furthermore, attorneys are limited by law as to what can and cannot be said about a case to the public.
In the matter of Steve Klein, since his case has now been brought into issue by the media, I am permitted to make a few statements. To that effect, I offer you the following indisputable facts about the accusations:
1. Steve Klein is not accused of having any lewd actual physical contact with any minor.
2. ALL charges against Steve are derived solely from online consensual video chats between Steve and some female strangers he met on an adult website. Steve believed the females were over the age of 18.
3. The females alleged to be “minors” in this case are not known females. This means that no one, not the prosecution, not the police, and not the defense, actually know who the females are and no one knows their true age.
4. The possession of child pornography charge is based solely on Steve allegedly “possessing” the videos of chats with the female strangers from the adult website.
This is about all I am permitted to disclose at this time. But I can tell you, from my many years of experience in this specialty area of criminal defense, I wholeheartedly believe that Steve Klein is innocent of all of these charges.
Steve is devastated by these accusations. He has lost his band, his livelihood, and his ex-wife continues to push for full custody of his children using this case as her pawn while he literally fights for his life. Despite this heavy hand, Steve remains strong and hopeful that he will be vindicated.”