Man Accused of Taking Pornographic Pictures of Girl May Go Free

LINCOLN PARK, Mich. (WJBK) - The mother of a Lincoln Park girl is outraged. That is because a man accused of taking pornographic pictures of her daughter could be released.

The woman will never forget the day the FBI showed up at her work to let her know an 82-year-old man had taken pornographic pictures of her seven-year-old daughter inside the Germania Club in Brownstown Township. A clerk at the drugstore who was developing the pictures alerted authorities.

"Devastated, (disbelief), an 82-year-old man doesn't do things like that," she said.

Her daughter was in the care of a family member who worked at the Germania Club when Ernest Oestrike allegedly followed her into the bathroom, had her take off all of her clothes and snapped pictures of the child, in some cases touching him. This supposedly happened several times.

The feds charged Oestrike for taking the sexual pictures of the girl.

"Disgusting, I don't even call him a man. I have other words I call him. I wish he'd drop off the face of the earth right now," the mother said.

Although Oestrike is behind bars, it may be just a matter of time before he walks free. According to federal court documents, a forensic psychologist who evaluated the elderly man said due to his advanced dementia, Oestrike is incompetent to stand trial, and because he does not present a risk to others, he will not be committed.

"They can't find anywhere to put him," said the mother. "Federal prison will not take him. They say he hasn't been convicted of anything. They, of course, can't put him in an insane asylum or whatever because they say he's not sick enough for that. They say he's not a danger to society."

However, in an interesting twist, FOX 2 obtained a copy of a letter Oestrike wrote to those he knew at the Germania Club six months after he was charged defending himself. In this letter, he makes claims that it was the little girl that approached him in the bathroom and she told him to get the camera.

The case is in appeal, and Oestrike's attorney is working to have his client released.

"Very angry, I feel like the justice system has failed big time," said the mother.

FOX 2's Taryn Asher asked the woman about her biggest fear. The mother answered, "That he's going to do this to somebody and possibly come back to find my daughter."

FOX 2 is told, at the very least, the U.S. Attorney's Office is working to have this man committed so he does not walk free. A hearing is set for next month.