Hearing for Colorado man suspected of kidnapping, child molestation set for June
After a hearing Monday in Kern County Superior Court, the case of a Colorado man suspected of child molestation and the kidnapping of an 11-year-old Bakersfield girl was delayed to June.
Joshua Michael Stehle, 29, of Thorton, Colo., is charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 years old, two counts of contacting a minor for sex, one count of kidnapping under the age of 14 years old for lewd or lascivious acts, one count of possessing materials of a minor engaged in sexual conduct, one count of using an underage person for sexual materials and one count of carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges earlier this month.
Stehle is being represented by Mark Anthony Raimondo and the prosecutor in this case is Deputy District Attorney Gina Pearl.
Stehle was arrested in March in Salina, Utah with a girl who went missing from Bakersfield. Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told the media at a press conference in March that the pair had been communicating online with one another. He said the pair may have believed they were in a romantic relationship.
According to the probable cause statement submitted by KCSO to the courts, a deputy found screenshots from video conversations between the two of the girl partially nude on Stehle’s phone.
Stehle’s next hearing will be June 13. He is being held without bail.