INDIANAPOLIS — A judge has ordered that a former Zionsville firefighter paramedic serve eight years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography.
Daniel Stevens, 48, worked at the Zionsville Fire Department and an Indianapolis hospital and used their internet connections to share pornographic images of children via social media, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
This happened "unbeknownst to his employers and without their consent," prosecutors said.
Prosecutors alleged that Stevens used his tablet to store thousands of pornographic images of prepubescent children, including infants, babies and toddlers — and viewed and saved "sadomasochistic" sexual abuse of children.
As part of his sentence, Stevens will have to pay $12,000 in restitution to each of the victims who were in the images he shared. He'll also be on probation for 10 years after his release and will have to register as a sex offender.
Stevens was arrested and charged in May 2021 after police received a tip that he uploaded child pornography on Twitter.
The investigation started after a Lebanon Police Department captain received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, officials have said. Several agencies served search warrants at a home in Whitestown and at Zionsville Fire Department Station 91.
According to a statement the Town of Zionsville, Stevens was an engineer with the fire department. He resigned in June 2021.
WRTV Digital Content Producer Andrew Smith contributed to this report.
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