Pasco teacher accused of using AI to generate child porn faces more charges

A Pasco teacher who was accused of using artificial intelligence to generate child pornography based on yearbook photos of his students has also been charged with grooming one of his students, according to a criminal complaint.

Steven Houser, 67, a former third grade teacher at Beacon Christian Academy in New Port Richey, was originally arrested in March on five counts of possession of child pornography. Deputies said he admitted to using yearbook photos of three students’ faces to generate them onto bodies of women that were “sexually suggestive.”

During their investigation, detectives also learned Houser tried to develop a relationship with one of his students, according to a complaint.

The complaint states that Houser started showing favoritism to a female student in his third grade class during the 2020-2021 school year. The principal of the school told detectives that Houser had to be “temporarily reassigned” because he would give the student answers to tests to make sure she passed, the complaint states.

The student told detectives that Houser would continuously tell her he loved her, and he would send her messages on Roblox, a popular gaming application for kids, when they were outside of school.

“He used to say that he loves me, which is really weird,” the student told detectives, according to the complaint. “He used to text me on Roblox and tell me that all of the time and it was really weird.”

When Houser was assigned as the student’s fourth grade science teacher during the 2022-2023 school year, he continued to tell the student that he loved her, the complaint states.

“The victim took it upon herself to tell the defendant privately to stop telling her he loved her because she ‘didn’t like it anymore,’” the complaint states. “The victim advised the defendant looked ‘mad’ when told this and responded angrily saying ‘fine’ and walking away.”

The student told detectives she never heard Houser tell any other students he loved them. She also told detectives that Houser kept buying her gifts, which he would give her in the classroom in front of other students. The gifts included a pair of earrings, a stuffed animal from the movie “Lilo and Stitch,” a Squishmallow stuffed animal and a throw blanket with the words, “I love you to the moon and back.”

The student told detectives she didn’t want the gifts, but that Houser insisted she keep them. Other students in the classroom did not receive any gifts, the complaint states.

The student told detectives she thought she and Houser were “best friends” until he told her he loved her. She thought the fact that her teacher thought they were more than friends was “really weird.”

Houser continued to message the student on Roblox after he left the school during the 2023-2024 school year, the complaint states. According to the complaint, he would frequently visit the school, which is connected to a church, to try to see the student.

For three weeks in November, Houser was on campus building a set for a Christmas show, and he would tell the student on Roblox that he wanted to see her, the complaint states.

Houser continued to message the student until March 7. The complaint states he would call her nicknames including “dewdrop,” “little sack of potatoes,” and “koala.”

During a search of Houser’s desktop computer, detectives found a folder named “dewdrop.” The folder contained “a large amount of images” of the student, the complaint states.

Houser also had several computer-generated images of the student engaged in sexual acts, the complaint states. Other computer-generated images showed the student’s face imposed onto the bodies of other women in lingerie.

In Houser’s wallet, detectives also found a sticky note with a heart and the student’s name on it, the complaint states.

Houser was arrested March 19 after deputies found he had two photos and three videos containing child pornography, in addition to the computer-generated images.

In an interview with detectives at the time, Houser said he was curious about what his students looked like naked and admitted to generating sexually suggestive photos of children, but said he hadn’t made any attempts to conduct sexual behavior with his students because he saw them as his “children.”

Houser now faces 10 counts of possessing child pornography and one count of soliciting a romantic relationship with a student, court records show. He was being held Monday at the Land O’ Lakes detention center on a $425,000 bond.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges through a public defender.