Prosecutor: Powell case is about his 'secret'

TACOMA, Wash. — Prosecutors opened their case in the voyeurism trial of Steven Powell on Wednesday, saying the father-in-law of missing Utah mother Susan Powell had hundreds of images of girls that he took through a window for his own sexual gratification.

Powell was "invading their most private moments," said Deputy Prosecutor Bryce Nelson in his opening statement.

Graphic, nude photos of two young girls were among the pictures found on a computer in Steven Powell's home, and were taken without their knowledge as they went to the bathroom and took baths, said KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Dubois.

"Someone had been watching her girls: The defendant, Steven Powell," Nelson said. "This case is about a secret," he said. The neighbor girls and her mother "didn't know Steve Powell had a secret. But we do."

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, adding that the defense "will challenge every piece of evidence the state presents."

Before the testimony began, there was an hour and a half of pre-trial arguments morning -- a lengthy discussion about which photos could be shown to the jurors.

The prosecution wanted to submit several photos unrelated to the case that demonstrated Powell's alleged, extensive collection of voyeuristic photos he had taken.

The judge ruled many photos were not pertinent to the case, but said he will allow image of Steven Powell engaged in personal sexual behavior.

KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Kevin McCarty is in the courtroom, sending messages via @KevinKIRO on Twitter.

Here are some of his tweets:

--Pros. Nelson describing how neighbors of Steve Powell moved into area. That they believed they were safe and private in their own home

--"What D.C. didn't know was that somebody had been watching her girl. Invading their most private moments. That someone was Steven Powell"

--Nelson: "hundreds of images of AH and JH." Photos titled "Taking bath", showed the girls nude, taking baths, using bathroom

--Defense atty Mark Quigley up now. "We know about Josh Powell, we know about Susan Powell, we know that's not what this trial is all about"

--Quigley says Steve Powell will not testify, present a case, but will challenge every piece of evidence the state presents

--Quigley: "What I want to to focus on is the sufficiency of the evidence". Did state prove its case?

Judge Ronald Culpepper said pictures of Susan Powell would be excluded.

"It gets us a bit off the track," he said. "There is certainly reason to believe Steve Powell had a bizarre obsession with Susan Powell, but she is not a charged victim here."

Powell faces 14 counts of voyeurism, alleging that he secretly recorded the neighbor girls and other women without their knowledge. Voyeurism carries a five-year maximum sentence.

Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, watched as Steve Powell was led into the courtroom Monday wearing handcuffs, a tie and gray suit. While jurors filled out questionnaires in another room, prosecutors and defense attorneys discussed how much should be disclosed at the trial about Steve Powell's apparent obsession with his son's wife.

Susan Powell is presumed dead, apparently at the hands of her husband, Josh Powell, who was Steve Powell's son. Josh Powell killed himself and the couple's   two sons in a fiery explosion in February at a house in Graham. At the time, he was involved in a custody fight with the Coxes over the boys.

Josh Powell and the boys had moved into his father's home in Puyallup after Susan Powell's disappearance from their home in West Valley City, Utah, in late 2009.

Officers were searching the home for clues last summer when they said they came across voyeuristic images on Steve Powell's computers. There were images of Susan Powell and other women that appeared to be secretly recorded, and pictures of naked women with Susan Powell's head superimposed, authorities said.

KIRO