A monstrous accused predator turned relationships he built with fellow parents in the NYC shelter system into a hunting ground for child sex abuse victims — taking grotesque videos of his exploits with youngsters who thought of him as their godfather, Bronx prosecutors said Monday.
Stephen Charles, 42, fidgeted as a prosecutor read the grim, graphic details of his alleged abuse in Bronx Supreme Court, while his accusers’ family members wept in shock in the courtroom. He was ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty Monday.
Charles is charged with sexually abusing a half-dozen victims — four boys and a girl, ages 10 to 16, and an 18-year-old man — over an eight-year stretch starting in 2018. He was related to one of his victims, but the others were youngsters he met when he became close with their families as he and his own children lived in two shelters in the Bronx. All of the victims were minors when the abuse occurred.
“This has been very shocking,” one woman said, through tears, as she left left the courtroom.
“He played this role of godfather… He did it in my own apartment, while I was working. I hope that he pays for everything that he’s done.”
Prosecutors fear Charles, who’s already a registered sex offender from a crime he committed in 2002, may have even more alleged victims.
Charles began using the city’s shelter system as a hunting ground for abuse victims in April 2018 while he and his four biological children lived in a shelter on Boynton Ave. in the Bronx, Assistant D.A. Rachael Baughman said. His family became close to those of his eventual victims.
“They would share holidays together, birthdays together,” Baughman said.
“He would watch these children and their siblings. His kids were friends with their kids,” she said. “And all of these parents and their children viewed Mr. Charles as their godfather.”
Those relationships continued as he moved to a second shelter, the Henwood Place family shelter in Morris Heights, then to an apartment, but his friendly facade shattered after two of his kids ran away from home on June 20, Baughman said. An investigation that followed would eventually lead to a number of the victims coming forward, Baughman said.
Prosecutors learned that Charles would make the children he’d forced into his perverse orbit perform sexual acts on him, and he would perform acts on them, often abusing and raping one child as another watched, Baughman said. At times, he “tortured” some of his victims with sex toys, she said.
Investigators found cell phone videos of him raping the children, taken from his point of view, the prosecutor said. So far, they’ve only gone through two of the eight electronic devices they seized. A grand jury indicted him on 48 counts, including predatory sexual assault against a child and rape.
Police put his photo out to the public on Thursday, and when he showed up in the homeless shelter system Friday, cops got a notification and arrested him.
Charles was already a convicted sex offender prior to his recent arrest. In 2004, after Charles got probation for his earlier conviction, he was designated a “level 1” sex offender — the lowest risk level, meaning his name doesn’t appear on the state’s public list of sex offenders. Even so, he violated the terms of his probation over the years, and was convicted of failing to update his sex offender registration in 2018, Baughman said.
It’s not clear how his status as a level 1 offender might have affected his access to the city’s shelter system. A Department of Homeless Services spokesperson said the agency cannot reveal client case information under NY state law.
“These are horrific allegations and DHS is working closely with the authorities to ensure a thorough investigation,” the spokesperson said. “DHS provides shelter to anyone in need, in accordance with the city’s right to shelter law.”
Judge Eugene Bowan ordered him held without bail until his return to court Sept. 1.
The proceedings in court Monday were slightly delayed when Charles told court officers he was afraid to take an elevator to the third-floor courtroom. “He says that he has not been in an elevator for 25 years,” his lawyer, Scott Spivek, told the judge.
Charles ultimately acquiesced rather than face a possible order he be presented by force. His accusers’ family members grumbled with disbelief as he delayed his appearance.
“Ain’t nothing wrong with him,” one scoffed.
