Homer Steele

Police say 69-year-old Homer Steele has confessed to molesting at least four to five victims, but they believe there are more and that the sexual abuse may go back as far as the late 1950s.

Several neighbors are still stunned over these allegations including the mother of one young man who believes that her son may have nearly been a victim.

"I wish someone like that had never been born," said Brenda Chapman.

Chapman did not know her neighbor Homer Steele very well at all. That's why when her son recently claimed he was shown pornography by Steele and even propositioned, she was shocked.

"It's eating me up inside. It really is," said Chapman.

Although Chapman's son is in the process of giving a statement to detectives, Pasadena police do believe Steele preyed on innocent boys, several of them dating back nearly fifty years ago.

"The defendant claimed that there's four or five other victims. We actually think that there's more than that," said Asst. Chief Bud Corbett of the Pasadena Police Department.

Pasadena police began investigating the 69-year-old after an acquaintance came forward who claimed that Steele confided in him that he sexually abused several teenage boys. Police then tracked down another acquaintance who claimed to have seen child pornography at Steele's townhouse.

When police searched Steele's home, they said they found three images of child pornography.

"He had them in his wallet," said Corbett.

Police said the images were of a teenager passed off as Steele's own grandson who had been living with him since the age of five after his parents turned over custody.

"The parents were perhaps drug-addicted or somehow compromised in their personal lives and he offered them some relief," said Corbett.

Eyewitness News spoke with Steele's sister in Marshall who said her brother was always a good man and she was shocked to hear about the boy with whom he allegedly lived.

"I'm not sure who they could even be talking about," said Faith Dossett.

Steele is also charged with molesting a now 18-year-old when the boy was underage. Steele's sister said that if the allegations were true, her heart goes out to the boys' families.

"I am so sorry because nothing can make it go away," said Dossett.

Steele was scheduled to be in court on Thursday but that was canceled because he was sent to a jail clinic. His sister said that he has heart problems.

Steele is currently charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child and two counts of promotion of child pornography.

Steele is being held on $80,000 and investigators think Steele may have more victims.

If you have any information, you're asked to call the Pasadena Police Department at 713-475-7800.

UPDATE

A judge on Friday morning raised the bond for Homer Steele to $130,000 on two counts of sex assault of a child and one count of possession of child pornography. Police say Steele admitted molesting five teenage boys.

A 25-page search warrant states that Steele told friend he would show pornography to young boys for months and buy them items to get the boys to sleep in bed with him.

The friend says he knows of ten boys Steele sexually assaulted in his home.