Ex-deputy accused of child porn allowed supervised visits
A former Harris County sheriff ’s deputy accused of possessing child pornography and producing pornography depicting bestiality must be supervised when he is with his 10-year-old daughter, a judge ruled Thursday.
State District Judge Denise Collins said Andrew Sustaita Jr. will have to be supervised by his wife or parents when he is with his daughter.
The judge made the decision after hearing that Sustaita’s laptop — which allegedly contained more than 200 images of child pornography from the Internet — also had pictures of a young relative in various stages of being undressed, such as having her dress pulled up.
Defense attorneys said the photos of the relative are not a crime, but prosecutors asked that Sustaita, who had been a peace officer for a six years, be prohibited from contact.
After a brief hearing, the judge compromised on the no-contact order and agreed to allow supervised visits. Sustaita is also prohibited from contact with domesticated or farm animals.
He was originally arrested last week after an online task force allegedly connected him to obscene material including images of sexual contact with a dog.
In that case, he has been charged with a Class A misdemeanor of obscenity. After that arrest, his laptop was searched, and he was charged with possession of child pornography.
If convicted of the third-degree felony, he could face a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.
The former deputy is free after posting a $30,000 bail. He appeared in court with his mother and attorneys Nathan Hennigan and Kristin Guiney, who did not comment after the hearing. Prosecutors also declined to comment.
Sustaita was relieved of duty after his arrest, according to the sheriff ’s office.