Steve Powell Voyeurism Trial: Girls testify against father-in-law of missing Susan Powell
(CBS/AP) TACOMA, Wash. - Two young Washington State girls who were neighbors of Steve Powell testified Wednesday in his voyeurism trial that they did not know they were being photographed by Powell while in their bathroom.
Powell, 62, whose daughter-in-law Susan Powell has been missing since 2009 and whose son Josh Powell killed himself and the couple's two boys in February, is on trial after police allegedly found hundreds of graphic, nude images of girls on his computer while looking for evidence about Susan Powell's disappearance.
According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the neighbor girls were eight and ten when the photos were taken in 2006 and 2007.
In his opening statement, Deputy Prosecutor Bryce Nelson said that Powell took the photos through a window, "invading their most private moments," and used the pictures for his own sexual gratification.
Among the photos found on a computer in Powell's home were images of the neighbor girls as they went to the bathroom and took baths, reports CBS affiliate KIRO.
Defense attorney Mark Quigley told jurors during his opening statement that Steven Powell doesn't have any burden of proof in the case and that it's up to prosecutors to provide enough evidence to convict him.
"What you're to consider in this case is the evidence you hear in this court only, not what this case is all about," Quigley said, apparently suggesting the prosecution has to do with the fate of the Powell family. He added that the defense "will challenge every piece of evidence the state presents."
Steve Powell is not expected to testify.