California registered sex offender back behind bars for same offense
Gary Steven Daniel (Ventura County District Attorney's Office)
VENTURA, Calif. - An Oxnard man pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material in two separate cases, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced.
What we know:
The district attorney’s office said Thursday that Gary Steven Daniel, 47, a registered sex offender, entered guilty pleas in two cases involving child sexual abuse material, commonly known as CSAM. Officials said Daniel was out on bail when the second crime occurred.
Timeline:
Prosecutors said Daniel’s history of CSAM offenses dates back to 2015, when he was first convicted of possessing the material in Missouri. He was later convicted of the same offense in Ventura County in 2019.
Because of his prior conviction, Daniel was sentenced to six years in state prison in the 2019 case, officials said.
"After his release, district attorney investigators arrested Daniel in July 2024 for a new CSAM offense," the DA’s office said in a statement. "During that investigation, Daniel attempted to avoid detection by storing CSAM in cloud-based accounts and accessing them through a burner phone."
Investigators tracked the accounts and found gigabytes of child sexual abuse material, officials said.
Daniel posted $50,000 bail and was awaiting trial when he was arrested again.
From October through December 2025, the district attorney’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Unit received four CyberTip reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving Daniel, officials said. Investigators executed a search warrant at Daniel’s Oxnard home, where he was arrested.
Daniel pleaded guilty to three felony counts of possession and control of child sexual abuse material, authorities said.
What they're saying:
"The task force that took down Gary Daniel II works tirelessly to track down those who sexually exploit children," said Senior Deputy District Attorney Mike Wise in a statement. "They are exposed to the worst type of images every day, but they nevertheless show up ready to make sure justice is done."
What's next:
Daniel remains in custody with bail set at $500,000.
His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 17. He faces up to eight years and eight months in state prison.
The Source: This story was written with information from a press release provided by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.