Concord Man Charged With Sexual Abuse Of Child Younger Than 13: DA

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — A Concord man previously charged with possession of child pornography is suspected of sexually abusing a child in 2015 in Antioch, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office said.

Patrick Steven Yelton, 50, was charged Monday in Contra Costa County Superior in Martinez with three counts of forcible sexual abuse of a child under 13 in connection with the crimes he is accused of committing in 2015.

Yelton was charged last April with possession of child pornography following an investigation that began in March 2020 when the regional Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce received a tip that he was storing images of child pornography in his Google account, the DA's Office said.

Concord police confronted Yelton about the suspected images and served a search warrant to get his cell phone where the DA's Office said more photos of child porn were found.

In February 2021, the regional task force got another tip that Yelton had suspected pornographic images of children on his Yahoo account.

While reviewing the material in Yelton's account, investigators found evidence related to a 2015 investigation in Antioch concerning the sexual abuse of a child younger than 13, the DA's Office said.

As a result, Yelton has now been charged with the 2015 forcible sexual abuse offenses, in addition to the original child pornography charge.

Yelton is in custody at the county jail in Martinez. His bail was set at $200,000.

The investigation against Yelton was conducted by a multi-agency, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is managed by the San Jose Police Department.

In Contra Costa County, detectives and investigators from the Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, San Ramon, Concord and Moraga Police Departments, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, United States Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Contra Costa County Probation Department, and inspectors from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office participated in the task force.