News
Fathers 14 Year Old Teen Girl Models On Site
Published: Sep 01, 2003 - 12:59 AM
A McNairy County, Tennessee, man has alleged jury tampering in the trial that convicted him of producing and distributing pornography of his 14-year-old daughter.
A jury convicted Steven Joseph Yurick of Bethel Springs earlier this month on nine counts of shooting, possessing and distributing sexually explicit pictures of his teenage daughter. The original federal indictment said Yurick had pictures stored on a computer hard drive and a CD-ROM disc. The On Your Side Investigators found the pictures posted on a fee-based website owned and run by Yurick.
A jury convicted Steven Joseph Yurick of Bethel Springs earlier this month on nine counts of shooting, possessing and distributing sexually explicit pictures of his teenage daughter. The original federal indictment said Yurick had pictures stored on a computer hard drive and a CD-ROM disc. The On Your Side Investigators found the pictures posted on a fee-based website owned and run by Yurick.
Today, Yurick's lawyer, Michael Pleasants, asked U.S. District Judge Bernice Donald for a new trial. He alleged the jury's foreman had "improper communications" with a member of the court's computer staff.
"Having lunch together," said Pleasants. "Three times during the course of the trial. We want to find out what transpired."
"This is an attempt for a convicted defendant to go on a fishing expedition to ask any juror anything he wants," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Newsom.
Yurick not only produced and arranged sexual pictures of his underage daughter on his website, but also on the website of photographer Richard Murrian, a Chicago native living in Paris.
Murrian's gallery boasts a passion for teenage girls "in the years of blossoming sensuality." Their pictures are posted, he says, with the written consent of a parent or guardian, and he confirmed Yurick and his daughter flew to France last summer to book a shoot.
"I can tell you that in my contact with Stephen and Marie, the booking was handled in a professional manner," said Murrian via e-mail.
Murrian defended his nude and partially nude photographs of teen models, including Yurick's daughter. "My work with U.S. models has been guided and reviewed for legal compliance by well-known and expert U.S. attorneys who specialize in this area of law," said Murrian.
News Channel 3 has also tracked down the company that gave Yurick the Internet domain for his personal website, the main focus of the federal investigation. A company spokesperson said Yurick purposely left his name and number off the registration. According to the company, Yurick probably should have been denied the website on the grounds of improper registration.
The indictment alleged Yurick photographed a minor in sexually suggestive poses and scenarios over a two-year period, starting when she was 12 years old.
The pictures started out sexy, then turned sexual. An anonymous source from Yurick's neighborhood sent News Channel 3 a CD-ROM that contained pictures of the same minor seen on the website. But in the CD-ROM's pictures, she's wearing thong underwear and lingerie. In some of the pictures, the teen is topless. The girl is identified as Marie on the website. Both the indictment and the source from the Bethel Springs neighborhood indicated the name "Marie" was on the label of the CD-ROM. Marie is the middle name of Yurick's 14-year-old daughter.
The neighborhood source said Yurick is estranged from his wife, who is staying with her mother in North Carolina.
Donald will decide whether to grant Yurick's request for a new trial September 2. Yurick is free on an unsecured $30,000 bond. His bond conditions forbid him from using the Internet or travelling outside of West Tennessee. He also had to surrender his passport. His sentencing is scheduled for December. He faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each count.
"Having lunch together," said Pleasants. "Three times during the course of the trial. We want to find out what transpired."
"This is an attempt for a convicted defendant to go on a fishing expedition to ask any juror anything he wants," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Newsom.
Yurick not only produced and arranged sexual pictures of his underage daughter on his website, but also on the website of photographer Richard Murrian, a Chicago native living in Paris.
Murrian's gallery boasts a passion for teenage girls "in the years of blossoming sensuality." Their pictures are posted, he says, with the written consent of a parent or guardian, and he confirmed Yurick and his daughter flew to France last summer to book a shoot.
"I can tell you that in my contact with Stephen and Marie, the booking was handled in a professional manner," said Murrian via e-mail.
Murrian defended his nude and partially nude photographs of teen models, including Yurick's daughter. "My work with U.S. models has been guided and reviewed for legal compliance by well-known and expert U.S. attorneys who specialize in this area of law," said Murrian.
News Channel 3 has also tracked down the company that gave Yurick the Internet domain for his personal website, the main focus of the federal investigation. A company spokesperson said Yurick purposely left his name and number off the registration. According to the company, Yurick probably should have been denied the website on the grounds of improper registration.
The indictment alleged Yurick photographed a minor in sexually suggestive poses and scenarios over a two-year period, starting when she was 12 years old.
The pictures started out sexy, then turned sexual. An anonymous source from Yurick's neighborhood sent News Channel 3 a CD-ROM that contained pictures of the same minor seen on the website. But in the CD-ROM's pictures, she's wearing thong underwear and lingerie. In some of the pictures, the teen is topless. The girl is identified as Marie on the website. Both the indictment and the source from the Bethel Springs neighborhood indicated the name "Marie" was on the label of the CD-ROM. Marie is the middle name of Yurick's 14-year-old daughter.
The neighborhood source said Yurick is estranged from his wife, who is staying with her mother in North Carolina.
Donald will decide whether to grant Yurick's request for a new trial September 2. Yurick is free on an unsecured $30,000 bond. His bond conditions forbid him from using the Internet or travelling outside of West Tennessee. He also had to surrender his passport. His sentencing is scheduled for December. He faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each count.
