Music

New Found Glory guitarist charged with possession of child pornography

by Mark Teo

via Fuse

When New Found Glory, the beloved pop-punk bands, parted ways with guitarist Steve Klein last December, it turned plenty of heads. Klein, after all, was a primary songwriter in the band, and the man responsible for most of their lyrics—it’s all downhill from here, some sharp-tongued fans noted.

Yesterday, however, the reasons became apparent: Klein was charged with multiple felonies. Namely, he was charged with two counts of lewd conduct with a minor under 14, three counts of lewd conduct with a minor aged 14 to 15, and one charge of intent to commit lewd conduct with a minor. Beyond that, he was also found to be in possession of child pornography.

Here’s a photo of Klein’s court documents.

Serious charges, indeed—which are made more troubling considering New Found Glory’s youthful fanbase. The band, too, were troubled by Klein’s charges, and confirmed that they parted ways when they learned of his alleged indiscretions.

“Upon our return from Warped Tour Australia, Steve made us aware of possible allegations that might be made against him. 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 band wrote in a statement. “Us 4 members of New Found Glory have given our entire lives to this band and will continue to do so. We’ve been able to play all over the world for the most amazing fans.”

Klein’s attorney, however, cautioned not to assume his client’s guilt. He released a statement to—where else?—Absolutepunk detailing the circumstances of felony charges. “It is a difficult challenge to defend oneself in the media when there is a pending criminal case,” said his attorney, Debra White.  “This is because people are quick to assume that if a person is charged with a crime, they are also guilty as charged.”

Accordingly, Klein has been advised to stay quiet. “It is especially difficult,” continued White, “because criminal defense attorneys insist that their clients not talk about the case to ensure that their constitutional rights are protected.”

But the attorney did clarify Klein’s charges—which, she says stem from video chats on an adult website. She says that Klein was unaware that these chats were occurring with minors.

She released these four points in a statement.

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. 

The attorney then notes that Klein is “devastated” by these allegations—and that she assumes his innocence. She says he’s since lost his livelihood, his band, and his ex-wife is now pushing for full custody of his children.

His fans, meanwhile, empathized with Klein. Some, in fact, cautioned not to mention him in the same breath as disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins.

Regardless of whether Steve Klein turns out to be innocent or not, his life is completely ruined beyond repair now.

— Sunil (@Sunil_Gangarh) March 13, 2014

Majority of people saying that Steve Klein is innocent until proven guilty were the people on the witch hunt when the Ian Watkins news broke

— John ‡ (@_bleedblack) March 12, 2014

Just heard about the Steve Klein shit. Honestly heartbreaking. It’s such bullshit. I don’t believe it. He’s innocent.

— satan’s bitch (@CemeteryChaos) March 12, 2014

Of course, others were less sympathetic. Tumblr user Christopher Gutierrez, in a blog post, decried the sympathy fans had for Klein.

“Today we read that Steve from New Found Glory was arraigned on multiple charges of child molestation and counts of child porn on his computer. And almost as quickly as people were erupting in outrage, there was a small group of people out there immediately defending him,” wrote Gutierrez. “And it made me think—why? Why are people so quick to defend something so serious. Something that we know is so offensively common in our world. And what I realized is that it’s not so much that he was in a band they liked as much as it is that they are cowards.”

He then notes that an offender’s appearance doesn’t absolve them of guilt. “Rapists and child molesters laugh and sing and dance and drink beer and eat pizza just like you! So just because you say to yourself, ‘Well, I mean, he was nice to me!’,” he continues. “Doesn’t mean shit to the victim. I’ve met Steve from NFG a few times, I have hung out with Ian Watkins from Lost Prophets and I lived with my father for years and guess what? They were all really nice guys—until they thought they could get away with the crime of taking advantage of a child. ”

So, what do you think? Are these allegations enough to sink New Found Glory’s legacy?