Teen Baseball Ump, Counselor To Enter Child Porn Plea: SCC D.A.

GILROY, CA — A San Jose man, who worked as a youth baseball umpire in Santa Cruz high school athletics and as a teen addiction counselor, is expected to enter a plea July 9 for accusations he possessed child pornography, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced Friday.

Graham Bessermin, 38, of San Jose, who has worked closely with youth throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, faces felony charges of communicating with a minor for sex. The case has led Morgan Hill Police detectives to saying they identified the Bessermin as a suspect a month ago, after a lengthy investigation starting with a cyber tip last November of a social media site uploading child pornography.

The tip had sparked the investigations of more than 18 people nationwide who had sent or received child pornography from two local men who were producing child porn and sexually assaulting children under age 10. Bessermin is one of two men arrested and charged, Santa Clara County prosecutors contend.

The defendant was arraigned in May. If convicted, he may spend time in prison.

“Local law enforcement will track down every cyber lead to find those who trade in child pornography, and our office will hold them criminally accountable. These are not just images. They are real children, children who are exploited and abused,” prosecutor O'Bryan Kenney said.

Police seized suspected child pornography videos from the defendant’s phone, the D.A.'s office reported. It was also discovered that he worked in San Francisco at the Edgewood Center for Children and Families as a nighttime supervisor. Management at the Edgewood Center have been cooperating with police in this investigation.

Bessermin served as a baseball umpire for high school children through the Santa Cruz Coast
Athletic League for many years and worked with teenagers ages 13 to 17 at the Camp Recovery Center: Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment in Scotts Valley between 2007 and 2017.

Law enforcement officials are asking for any unreported victims to reach out to their local law enforcement agency or Morgan Hill Police Detective Chris Woodrow at chris.woodrow@morganhill.ca.gov or (669) 253-4895.