WAVERLY — A convicted Northern Iowa sex offender is being held on $100,000 bond after police accused him of committing a sex act against a child while knowing the act would be photographed, filmed or otherwise preserved.
Steven Dean Peters, 69, was arrested by the Waverly Police Department on July 28, 2026.
Peters (pictured at top) is charged with:
Second-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony.
Sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class C felony.
Police allege Peters committed a sex act against a minor child in 2022. Investigators further allege Peters knew the act would be photographed, filmed or otherwise preserved in a visual depiction.
The alleged crime was only recently reported to Waverly police while Peters was already incarcerated for a different criminal offense, authorities said.
Police have not disclosed the child’s age, the child’s relationship to Peters or additional circumstances surrounding the alleged recording.
Under Iowa law, second-degree sexual abuse includes committing a sex act when the other person is a child. For purposes of that law, Iowa’s criminal code defines a child as someone younger than 14.
Iowa law defines sexual exploitation of a minor to include causing or attempting to cause a minor to engage in a prohibited sexual act while knowing or having reason to know the act may be photographed, filmed or otherwise preserved.
Peters was booked into the Bremer County Jail at approximately 9:36 AM on July 28. He appeared before a judicial magistrate and was ordered held on a $100,000 bond.
Custody information continued to list Peters as an inmate at the Bremer County Jail following his arrest.
A conviction for second-degree sexual abuse carries a prison sentence of up to 25 years. Sexual exploitation of a minor is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Any sentences would be determined by the court.
The Iowa Sex Offender Registry confirms Peters was already a convicted sex offender before the new charges were filed.
The registry identifies Peters as a Tier 2 offender subject to reviews twice each year. His employment is restricted, although the registry lists no residency or exclusion-zone restrictions.
According to the registry, Peters was convicted May 26, 2026, in Bremer County of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse under Iowa Code section 709.11(3). The registry identifies the victim in that case as an adult woman and states no weapon was used.
The registry lists a Waterloo residence registered on June 29, although Waverly police identified Peters as being from Waverly when announcing the new arrest.
The new allegations involving a child are separate from the conviction already appearing on Peters’ registry record.
Peters’ arrest comes weeks after Northern Iowa authorities reported that a continuing law-enforcement effort targeting alleged child predators had produced 14 arrests since January.
Peters is presumed innocent of the new charges unless proven guilty in court.