BOCA RATON, Fla. – A former camp counselor from Palm Beach County has been arrested on charges of possession of child pornography and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, authorities confirmed.
Isaac Gabriel Yunes, 25, of Boca Raton, was taken into custody Friday.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the investigation into Yunes started in December after the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.
Authorities said the investigation revealed that Yunes had uploaded numerous files depicting “child sexual conduct/abuse material” on Snapchat.
All of the files contained pornographic material involving boys, including one video involving a boy believed to be not older than 2 years old.
According to the affidavit, all of the files were uploaded using fake email addresses.
Detectives said Yunes continued uploading files through March on Snapchat, even writing in a chat, “I’m more into 10-14″ after he was offered a Mega link featuring “boys 10-18.”
Yunes wrote that he was “mostly into younger…below 15,” the affidavit stated.
In another conversation, he said he preferred “13 and younger,” the report stated.
Detectives said they also found conversations where Yunes posed as 16-year-old and 17-year-old high school students and spoke to who he believed were boys between the ages of 14 and 17.
According to the affidavit, Yunes denied creating the Snapchat accounts under fake email addresses, but confirmed that he is friends with boys ages 12 to 14 on his Snapchat.
Detectives said he also told them that his parents have expressed concern before to him about his relationships with boys because “they don’t get it.”
He also said he was previously a camp counselor and worked at the YMCA, but denied having any sexual interest in children.
“We are currently unaware of any alleged inappropriate conduct occurring at the Y,” the YMCA of South Palm Beach County said in a statement. “Yunes was employed as a part-time child watch counselor from 2014 until 2019. All pre-employment checks conducted on Yunes came back clean; there was no cause for concern in his background, nor were there any disciplinary issues during his tenure with the YMCA of South Palm Beach County.
“Yunes successfully completed the required child abuse prevention training. We were deeply saddened and disturbed to learn of this situation. The Y will fully support the police in their investigation and prosecution.”
According to the affidavit, more than 30 files containing child pornography were found on Yunes’ cellphone after it was confiscated as evidence.
Authorities said the files depicted children between the ages of approximately 4 years old to 15. They also said a couple of apps were also deleted from his phone, which could have revealed more wrongdoing.
