Mich. camp counselor arraigned on child porn charges

DETROIT - A suburban Detroit day camp counselor has been arraigned on child pornography charges involving photos taken of young boys, and some camp staff have lost their jobs after complaints of inappropriate conduct last year were not passed on to superiors, reports CBS Detroit.

A federal judge in Detroit ordered Matthew Kuppe, 21, of West Bloomfield, Mich., held without bond Thursday. Kuppe is charged with production, distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography.

He was arrested after photos of naked 5-year-old boys in a locker room were posted on a Russian website.

Kuppe reportedly worked for two summers at the area's Jewish Community Center (JCC), which operates camps in Oakland County's West Bloomfield Township and Oak Park.

According to CBS Detroit, a seven page criminal complaint outlined graphic and disturbing details of Kuppe's alleged contact with prepubescent boys.

The station reports that authorities say he took pictures of several children at the day camp, in "various stages of undress," and posted those photographs on a foreign image-sharing website. In a court filing, agents said they confronted Kuppe and he admitted posting the photos he took with his cell phone.

Kuppe, who was arrested last week, faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted on charges of production, possession, distribution and receiving child pornography.

On Thursday, JCC officials said some supervisors have lost their jobs after authorities learned that complaints last year of inappropriate conduct involving a counselor were not passed on to camp management.

"In the summer of 2014, JCC camp supervisory personnel received a communication from a camp counselor which raised inappropriate conduct by the counselor who ultimately was charged with criminal wrongdoing," Jewish Community Center spokesman Michael Layne said in a statement.

"The information reported was not passed on to senior JCC management. Supervisory personnel who did not act on this communication have been terminated. We have shared this information with licensing officials in Lansing and with the West Bloomfield Police Department."

Investigators, meantime, are continuing to work to identify more potential victims. The U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit has set up a call center for people wanting information about the investigation -- 1-888-702-0553.