UC Merced employee sent sexually explicit photos to Oakdale minors, police say

An employee at the University of California, Merced, was arrested after sending sexually explicit photos to three Oakdale minors, police said Wednesday.

UC Merced police officers began investigating 21-year-old David Michael Yaranon in 2021, according to an Oakdale Police Department release.

During the course of their investigation, they learned Yaranon allegedly contacted multiple victims online and sent them sexually explicit photographs when he realized they were children.

Investigators learned the three apparent victims, between the ages of 13 to 15, were all from the Oakdale area. None of them met with Yaranon in person, police said.

The investigators contacted the Oakdale Police Department, which also joined in the case when it learned area minors were involved.

Oakdale officers went to the UC Merced campus to arrest Yaranon, but he did not show up for work. Oakdale and Merced Police Department officers then went to his house and arrested him there.

Yaranon faces three preliminary charges including annoying or molesting a child under 18 years of age, showing or sending harmful material to seduce a minor and contacting a minor to commit a felony.

He was booked into the Stanislaus County jail in lieu of $75,000 bond.

Yaranon was a part-time video technician at UC Merced, said spokeswoman Desiree Lopez, who shared with The Bee this statement from the university: “We applaud the swift, diligent work of Oakdale and UC Merced police investigators. The former employee is no longer employed by the university and has been banned from campus.”

A Facebook page apparently belonging to Yaranon says he lives in Oakdale, but the most recent post is from May 2021. An Oakdale Police Department spokeswoman said Yaranon is not an Oakdale resident.

Investigators are working to identify any additional victims. They ask asking anyone who may have been contacted by Yaranon to call 209-847-2231.