(CBS-DETROIT) – A A youth gymnastics photographer from Detroit pleaded guilty to distribute images of child pornography, officials announced.
David Eric Yellen, 59, of Royal Oak, was indicted last June after federal officials found hundreds of files containing child pornography on his electronic devices. The FBI discovered that Yellen used a peer-to-peer file-sharing software called BitTorrent to distribute the images.
He had worked for several years as a photographer and videographer at various youth gymnastics events. When officials searched his devices, they found at least 200 images of the bare feet of children who had attended the gymnastics events, according to U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison.
These photos were in a folder labeled “BFK,” which stood for “Barefoot Kids.”
Last year, Yellen had said he used BitTorrent but denied uploading or downloading child pornography.
He then admitted that he had downloaded child pornography a decade ago and still had it in his possession, but claimed he was unaware that the material he had about the software could be downloaded by other people.
Under the plea agreement, Yellen will be sentenced to five to 10 years in prison, followed by supervised release of five years to life.
“Yellen’s child pornography conduct was exacerbated because of his position of trust in the gymnastics community with youth gymnasts and their parents,” Ison said. “My office will continue to make prosecuting child pornography crimes a top priority to keep our community and our children safe.”
