WOODLAND — A former Woodland church musician accused of secretly filming women and girls in the church’s bathroom pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual exploitation of a child last week, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
Stephen William Masalta, 23, was sentenced to 90 days in county jail and three years’ probation as a result of the plea, which took place Thursday in Yolo Superior Court. He also must register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
Woodland police arrested Masalta on April 22 after a member of the New Life Community Church, 601 Walnut St., discovered a cell phone concealed inside a tissue box in the women’s restroom.
The phone, which was traced to Masalta, contained recordings of girls and women using the bathroom over a two-hour time frame, police said.
A subsequent search of Masalta’s Sacramento apartment reportedly revealed multiple electronic storage devices with similar footage dating back about four months.
Police said they identified 20 alleged victims of the recordings, their ages ranging from 4 to 60. Seven of them were juveniles at the time.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene