HOUSTON – A Houston firefighter charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography made his first appearance in criminal court Tuesday.
Ryan William Steckler, 36, is accused of being in possession of videos and images containing pornographic images of a child.
Tuesday's appearance in 177th District Court was procedural; Judge Robert Johnson upheld Steckler's bond agreement, which is $10,000 for each count, totaling $100,000.
Steckler was booked into the Harris County Jail on Friday.
According to court documents, a cyber investigation revealed he had altered pornographic videos and images in a computer program.
Court documents said investigators also recovered a hard drive from Steckler's home computer that allegedly contained pornographic images of children.
Officials said the children in the videos and photos ranged in ages from 1 to 12.
Under Steckler's bond agreement, he is required to:
- stay away from children under the age of 18, includes his 4-year-old daughter.
- stay Harris County
- stay off the internet
- remain at least 1,000 feet from a school or day care.
Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Pena said Steckler was relieved of duty and is currently under administrative investigation following his arrest.
Steckler had been employed with the Houston Fire Department for 14 years. Steckler wouldn't answer questions posed by KPRC2 as he left the court.
His attorney said neither he nor his client had any comment.