MADERA COUNTY, Calif. — An Oakhurst rental home owner is behind bars and accused of turning family vacations into nightmares by recording his guests during their most private moments.
Shocked neighbors want him to stay away.
“I really hope they don’t let him out. Right now, it’s safe, and we didn’t even know we were in danger,” said Anthony Polfer, who lives just down the street.
The Madera County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 44-year-old Christian Parmalee Edwards on Monday.
He was booked on multiple felony charges related to the possession and distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material and invasion of privacy.
The sheriff’s office initially received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which led to an investigation into Edwards’ devices.
One neighbor, Amy Gray, told ABC affiliate KFSN she and her children nearly found themselves in Edwards’ house of horrors.
“He even offered me to move in over there at one point and pay him rent,” Gray said.
“I’m sure he did have plans for my friends and her kids,” Polfer added.
Detectives say their initial investigation uncovered over 4,000 digital images of child sexual abuse material.
But they say that was only the beginning of his predatory practices.
“When they seized his devices at the home, they began uncovering videos of children and women being filmed in places where they should have had their privacy,” said Madera County Sheriff’s Office Director of Communications Kate Woertman.
Edwards had been renting the Oakhurst home to guests since 2023, which sits just a mile away from Yosemite High School.
KFSN also learned Monday that the recording wasn’t done through hidden cameras, but from just feet away.
“What detectives have found so far was that he was actually on site recording through cracks in the blinds in little private areas,” Woertman said.
Detectives are working to track down any guests who might have been victimized during their stay.
They say anyone who rented the home from 2023 to March 2026 should contact investigators immediately.
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