Ada County Prosecutors says a violent sex predator is back to his old ways.
Sean Hale, 44, is accused of two very serious crimes -- sexual abuse of a minor and possession of sexually exploitative materials.
"Mr. Hale are you currently working?" asked Judge Theresa Gardunia.
"No," Hale replied over closed circuit video.
"When is the last time that you worked Mr. Hale?"
"Two-and-a-half to three years ago."
"How are you supporting yourself?"
"I live with friends," replied Hale.
This early questioning is meant to determine whether Hale would receive a court appointed lawyer.
It's strictly routine, but so is Hale's appearance in court because this is far from his first time.
In 1994 he was found guilty of a series of very similar crimes involving rape, rape of a child, and child molestation in Washington, so he's already a registered violent sexual predator.
His latest endeavor took place on July 21 with his 16-year-old niece and her 15-year-old boyfriend when he allegedly took them swimming at a private pool.
"He told the female to remove her clothing -- to remove her shirt -- so he could take a picture of her holding her breasts," said the deputy prosecuting attorney.
Soon he got her boyfriend in on the act and took even more pictures until prosecutors say they refused to perform one of Hale's requested poses.
"On the way home from swimming, he informed the male victim not to put back on his clothes, so he rode home naked on this occasion. He also told the female victim to pose sexy and he took pictures with his cell phone," said the prosecutor.
But the photo shoot didn't end there.
Officials say when they got home, he took the boy into a back room, made him watch a pornographic video and took even more pictures.
Those pictures soon led to his capture when one of the victim's friends, who was outside at the time, asked Hale to use his cell phone.
"Mr. Hale said, 'Don't look at my pictures.' And she did so anyway and saw explicit pictures of both the female victim and the male victim," the prosecutor said.
Hale will be back in court in a couple weeks for a preliminary hearing.
Until then, he'll remain in the Ada County Jail on a $1 million bond.
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