ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The FBI is looking for more tips about a well-known Oakland County gymnastics photographer who’s facing child porn charges and admitted to taking barefoot pictures of children.
Child pornography traced to Royal Oak home
The investigation began last month while an FBI agent was investigating a peer-to-peer file sharing program known to be a place where predators share child pornography.
On May 11, the agent identified a user who had downloaded 14 files of interest to investigators. At least two of those files meet the federal definition of child pornography, according to authorities.
The agent worked with WOW! cable and traced the user’s IP address back to the Royal Oak home of David Eric Yellen, 58.
Officials said Yellen is a well-known freelance photographer within the gymnastics community. He has been contracted by multiple gymnastics academies in Michigan and the United States Women’s Gymnastics Judges Association.
Child pornography found on devices
While FBI agents searched Yellen’s home on June 1, he admitted to possessing child pornography on his electronic devices, court records show.
Yellen told officials that he used the file sharing program regularly, but denied uploading or downloading child porn. He said he had downloaded child porn 10 years ago and has kept it, but he claimed not to know that those images could be downloaded by others.
“Given his extensive use of (the file sharing program), I do not believe that he was unaware that he had his files in a location that allowed for sharing with others,” an FBI agent wrote in a criminal complaint.
Yellen denied producing child pornography, but said he would often take pictures of children’s bare feet during gymnastic events while working as an official photographer. He would then use those pictures for his own pleasure, the complaint says.
A computer and hard drive at Yellen’s home contained at least 1,500 pictures of children, and at least 500 of them meet the federal definition of child pornography, authorities said.
Among those photos were the original files downloaded on May 11, according to officials.
The hard drive included a folder titled “BFK,” and Yellen admitted that it stood for “barefoot kids,” agents said. There were at least 200 pictures of children’s bare feet in the folder.
Yellen arrested
Yellen was taken into custody during the search on two charges linked to the possession and distribution of child pornography, FBI officials said.
His arrest came after officials established probable cause that he had traded sexually explicit pictures of children online, according to court records.
FBI seeks tips
The FBI Detroit Field Office announced Monday, June 12, that it has created a website for the public to provide information on the investigation into Yellen.
Officials said Yellen currently lives in Michigan, but he has traveled nationally as a gymnastics photographer and videographer.
Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to click here and fill out a questionnaire, or contact the FBI via email by clicking here.
Anyone who is feeling distressed can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling or texting 988 or visiting this website. The crisis center is free and operates 24/7.
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