Third Trial Leads to Conviction of Steve Boudreaux on Felony Child-Sex Charges

Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash

A Humboldt County jury on Tuesday found 38-year-old Steve Elliot Boudreaux guilty of multiple felony counts involving lewd acts and forced oral copulation on a child who was under the age of ten at the time of the incidents. The verdicts were returned late in the morning on December 9, in Humboldt County Superior Court.

The case, first filed in January 2024, has gone before two juries already, both of which hung on some of the charges. This third trial, presided over by Judge Kaleb Cockrum, moved forward over the last several weeks with more than 20 days of testimony and deliberations. Courtroom reporter John Chiv, who has followed the proceedings from the start, reported that earlier juries convicted Boudreaux on some counts while deadlocking on others, setting the stage for this latest trial.

Boudreaux was convicted of two counts of oral copulation with a child ten years old or younger under Penal Code section 288.7(b), as well as multiple counts of lewd acts on a child under Penal Code section 288(a). The verdict forms describe separate incidents occurring inside a residence on Samoa Boulevard and another on Arcata House property, including acts in the kitchen, living room, and a child’s bedroom.

After the jury returned the guilty verdicts, the case moved into a separate phase to address special sentencing allegations that could add 25-years-to-life to each count. Boudreaux chose to have the judge—not the jury—decide those allegations. The court trial on them is scheduled for Friday, December 12, at 8:31 a.m. in Courtroom One.

Boudreaux has been held at the Humboldt County Jail since January 16, 2024, and remains in custody without the possibility of bail. As of this week, the jail records list him at 694 days in custody.