Pasadena Man Who Worked as Teacher, Coach Pleads Not Guilty to Possession of Child Porn

A Pasadena man who worked as a teacher and youth soccer coach pleaded not guilty Monday to a felony charge of possession of child or youth pornography.

Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba ordered Justin Yasutake, 39, not to have any unsupervised contact with minors and not to possess pornography of any kind as a condition of remaining free on bond.

Yasutake was charged Dec. 10, with the criminal complaint alleging that he possessed more than 600 images of child sexual abuse, including 10 or more images of a prepubescent minor or a minor who was under 12 years old, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Arcadia police said earlier this month that they initiated an investigation after being contacted about suspicious messages being sent through a messaging platform.

Police said they searched Yasutake’s electronic devices and found videos and images of underage girls engaged in sexual activity.

Yasutake was arrested Dec. 11 by Arcadia police, and released later that day on bond.

He had worked as a youth soccer coach in the city of Arcadia and other school settings in Los Angeles County, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Yasutake is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Feb. 18. A date is scheduled to be set then for a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial.