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Yosemite-Area Rental Owner Arrested in Child Exploitation Investigation

Detectives say guests may have been secretly filmed during private moments, prompting a search for victims.

Overview

  • Christian Parmalee Edwards, 44, was arrested Monday after a March 19 search of his Granite Butte Way home near Yosemite uncovered more than 4,000 suspected child sexual abuse files.
  • Investigators say the house operated as a short-term rental and that guests may have been recorded without their knowledge, with multiple electronic devices seized for forensic review.
  • Edwards is jailed on multiple felony counts for possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, and officials say additional invasion-of-privacy charges are pending.
  • The case began with a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and is being handled with the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force as deputies share a photo of the property and ask anyone who rented it from 2023 to March 2026 to contact them.
  • Local ABC reporting quotes a sheriff’s spokesperson saying early evidence points to on-site recording through cracks in window blinds, while one outlet reports bail was set at $75,000 and that no plea has been entered.