Photo Sessions Suspended After Arrests

Officials at Cypress College on Tuesday suspended monthly photo sessions on campus after four photographers were arrested on suspicion of taking lewd pictures of children they met there, some reportedly as young as 3 years old, authorities said.

Acting college president Tom Harris decided to cancel the photo shoots, organized by a group called the Models after a meeting with police and college administrators, college spokeswoman Terri O’Connor said.

“We have suspended the leasing of our facilities to the Models until we receive a written report from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department who have been investigating this for quite a while,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor said the Models, a private group not affiliated with the college, pay $465 to use the scenic campus as a background for the photo shoots on the second Sunday of each month, an arrangement they have had since the mid-1980s.

“There have been no problems with the Models prior to this, and we are certainly not saying that the organization is at fault in any way,” O’Connor said. “We are just making sure that the college is getting all of the information.”

O’Connor said the college was informed of the yearlong investigation two weeks ago.

Joe Duerr, who serves as an adviser to the Models, defended the organization’s photo shoots, which are designed to give amateur photographers and aspiring models a chance to gain experience and build portfolios.

“They have been going on for 25 years, and they do a lot of good for a lot of people,” he said. “It’s a damned shame that there are a few people out there spoiling it for everybody else.”

But Duerr called the college’s decision to put a halt to the sessions “understandable.”

“I have no qualms with Cypress whatsoever,” he said. “Anything we can do to support them or any police agencies to put a stop to this stuff going on, we’re more than happy to do.”

The last photo session held on the campus took place last Sunday amid heavy police presence, Duerr said.

The yearlong Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigation revealed ties to international pornography rings, and the four photographers were arrested on April 9, authorities said.

The men face charges of child molestation, lewd and lascivious acts with children younger than 14 and child annoyance.

Arrested were: Eric Kongs, 50, of San Pedro; John Marland, 37, of Hacienda Heights; Coy Jackson, 58, of Bellflower; and Stephen Brott, 34, of Los Angeles.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.