LI Imam Charged With Attempted Rape Of Minor: PD

WEST BABYLON, NY — A Long Island man and former imam at JFK Airport was arrested and charged with attempted rape after being caught in a civilian sting operation that exposes pedophiles on YouTube, police said.

Ahmet Yuceturk, 42, of West Babylon, a former imam at JFK Airport's multi-faith chapel, was arrested on December 13 after being featured on NY CREEPS SPOTLIGHT, a YouTube channel that lures and unveils online child predators, police said.

Yuceturk was charged with attempted rape, attempted criminal sex act, attempted obscenity, and criminal possession of a weapon, NYPD said.

According to FM, the channel's creator, Yuceturk sexted who he thought was a 14-year-old girl through the dating app, Whisper. Yuceturk used a different picture and name, FM said, and after learning the age of the fictional girl, displayed interest of wanting to be her father, writing "incestual" texts and describing various sex acts he wanted to partake with her.

"I'm your long-lost Dad”, one text wrote, according to Yuceturk's criminal complaint. “Call me Daddy while I F**k the s**t out of you."

Yuceturk is married and has children, his lawyer confirmed.

FM told Patch that he used a consensual decoy, "Emmie", for the fictional girl's photos. Yuceturk and the decoy talked on the phone several times, he said, claiming that all of the calls were recorded.

Yuceturk and the girl planned to meet up on the night of December 13 at an apartment building in the Bronx, after about a month of talking, FM said. In the 17-minute YouTube video, FM filmed Yuceturk, questioning why he came to the building.

As Yuceturk walked from the camera, FM followed him, holding a printed copy of the chat logs.

FM told Patch that every time he mentioned a detail from their conversation, Yuceturk became bothered.

"He even mentioned that his friend lived in the building," said FM. "So I said to call him and tell him to come down to verify his story. But he refused to do so."

At the end of the video, youth coordinating officers from the 52nd Precinct were seen stopping and arresting Yuceturk.

Yuceturk's lawyer, Caner Demirayak, said that his client is innocent of all charges, as there was no actual teenager or victim involved in the case. In a statement written to Patch, Demirayak said that FM is an "unreliable and reckless vigilante with a lust for fame and media attention" and invented a "phony" situation.

"It is clear this vigilante targeted him due to his public reputation, accomplishments and Islamic faith to create hysteria and has made five posts on his YouTube channel since then stating he is proud it has made 'international news,'" wrote Demirayak. "This was not a law enforcement operation, nor would it have ever been. Mr. Yuceturk has never committed a crime in his life and is a good, upstanding citizen."

Demirayak also wrote that FM attempted to assault his client, telling Yuceturk multiple times “I’ll knock you the f—- out.”

FM said that he does vigilante work because he was once almost a victim of child sexual abuse and knows many survivors.

"I hope I can make a change in how these creeps are charged. Some of them walk away with a slap on the wrist, meanwhile you get a summons for hopping turnstiles," said FM. "From crackheads to teachers, to religious leaders and cops — you have caught them all. There’s no discrimination."

Yuceturk is scheduled to appear in Bronx Criminal Court on January 25, 2022.