ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Mo. – Investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested a Farmington, Missouri, man on suspicion of child pornography possession.
According to Sgt. Darrin Haslag, a state patrol spokesman, in June 2023, the Indiana State Police contacted the MSHP’s Division of Drug and Crime Control and Digital Forensics Investigations units regarding its own investigation into Steven Earl Marez.
On July 13, Missouri state troopers pulled Marez for a traffic violation. During the stop, troopers questioned Marez and seized his cellphone.
Based on information from the Indiana State Police, Missouri troopers obtained a search warrant for Marez’s phone and discovered an unspecified number of videos containing child porn.
On July 19, the St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Marez with three counts of possession of child pornography and one count of promoting child pornography. He remains jailed on a $200,000 bond.