Teen says porn-ring suspect treated boy as 'boyfriend'

A teenage witness said Tuesday that child pornography suspect John David Yoder shared a bedroom with a preteen special needs child whom he treated "like a boyfriend."

The witness testified for about four hours during a court hearing in the Southern California desert town of Indio, a hearing designed to determine if authorities have a strong enough case to prosecute Yoder. The witness' name is being withheld because he is an alleged victim.

"He needs to go away," the witness told the court. "He is sick in the head ... because he does this to boys."

Yoder, 43, is one of three suspects arrested earlier this month as part of a suspected child pornography ring that investigators called one of the most "egregious" cases of child exploitation in Southern California in recent years.

Authorities accused the trio of recruiting victims at parks by offering modeling jobs. The investigation into the case spanned from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, but mostly focused on the low-income city of Desert Hot Springs, where most of the children were alleged to have been victimized.

Yoder has pleaded not guilty to numerous felony charges in both county and federal court. In a prior interview, Yoder's attorney, John Patrick Dolan, has said that Yoder believed he was working for a legitimate modeling agency. By the time he discovered what was really going on, he was stuck in a "web," unable to escape, Dolan has said.

After the court hearing on Tuesday, Dolan, questioned the credibility and the motives of the teenage witness. Dolan noted that the witness' story shifted under cross-examination, and the witness had repeatedly expressed a desire to see Yoder "taken down."

"I think he is unbelievable," Dolan said. "He also has no memory. He has his stories upside down. He can't remember what he said two weeks ago, unless he is reminded. That sort of suggests a person may not have it all together."

Until his Jan. 30 arrest, Yoder was working as a special needs aide for the Palm Springs Unified School District and living in a house in Desert Hot Springs with two adopted sons, ages 18 and 14, and a 12-year-old special needs child whom he was in the process of gaining guardianship. The witness also lived at the house for several years.

During testimony on Tuesday, the witness said that Yoder had developed a suspicious relationship with the special needs boy. Yoder was frequently touching him and kissing the boy on the lips, and acted as if they were "partners," the witness said.

"What do you mean by that?" asked William Robinson, the lead prosecutor.

"Like a boyfriend," the witness said.

The witness also testified that Yoder shared a bedroom with the boy, and locked the bedroom door with a deadbolt each night. The witness said the sleeping arrangement was "strange." However, Dolan took this moment to point out that the witness had no firsthand knowledge of what went on behind that bedroom door.

During a later portion of his testimony, the teen witness described two instances in which he had seen sexual touching between Yoder and the boy.

During cross-examination, Dolan pressed the witness on his motivations, suggesting that the teen was "biased" because he was currently living in Yoder's home. Since Yoder's arrest, the witness has been living rent-free in the Desert Hot Springs house, which gave him a clear reason to try to keep Yoder behind bars, Dolan said.

Dolan also questioned why, if the witness had seen so much suspicious behavior from Yoder, he had never reported anything to police or child protective services. The witness said he did not think authorities would believe him unless he had "evidence."

"I guess you didn't see it well enough to tell anybody?" Dolan asked, pressing the witness.

"He could deny it all," the witness said. "I wanted more solid ground."

The witness also said he was frightened of Yoder, who had once threatened to "make him disappear." However, Dolan noted that, despite these threats, the witness chose to live in Yoder's house.

Yoder's preliminary hearing is scheduled to resume on March 23. Prosecutors have several more witnesses to call, including the mother of an alleged victim. Dolan has said he plans to call at least one witness, which may be Yoder himself.

The other two suspects in Yoder's case are William Thompson, of Las Vegas, and Eric Monsivais, of Los Angeles. Authorities have described Thompson as a "prolific" child pornographer who lured children into pornography by pretending to manage a modeling agency. Prosecutors said Yoder helped recruit victims, also using the modeling ruse.

During the court hearing on Tuesday, the teen witness said he modeled for Thompson several years ago. The witness said that Yoder drove him to meet Thompson in Dana Point, a coastal city in Orange County, where he was photographed in his underwear. During the court hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors briefly displayed the photos as evidence.

All three men face a number of charges in local and federal court and could be sent to prison for decades if convicted.

Kelman also reports for The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun.