BAY CITY, MI - A Bay City man who told police he is a former Boy Scouts of America scoutmaster faces four felonies related to child pornography.

In late April, the Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Unit-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began investigating the possible sharing of child porn via a peer-to-peer network.

Investigators obtained subscriber information on an IP address linked to the Bay City residence of 76-year-old Gerald D. Eichinger.

Police interviewed Eichinger in July, advising him he was not under arrest. Eichinger told police he downloads adult pornography, but later said he downloaded porn depicting “young people,” according to police reports contained in court records.

Eichinger also told police he has been actively involved with the Boy Scouts of America. He said he had been a scoutmaster years ago and held an explorer post. He said he was currently an “advancement coordinator” with Troop 119, based in Bay City.

Eichinger denied ever having sexually assaulted a child, the police report states.

MLive contacted the Rev. Erv Hutter, commissioner of the Boy Scout’s six-county Shoreline District and committee chairman of Troop 119. He said while Eichinger had been involved with the organization in the past, he was not an advancement coordinator at the time of the criminal investigation.

Eichinger in September appeared in Bay County District Court for arraignment on two counts of using a computer to commit a crime and single counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material and aggravated distribution or promotion of child sexually abusive activity. The last charge is a 15-year felony, while the rest are all punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

On learning of Eichinger’s charges, the Boy Scouts of America issued the following statement:

“We were shocked and disturbed to learn about the allegations against this individual. These actions are reprehensible and run counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) stand. While these actions do not appear to be related to Scouting and this individual is not currently registered with Scouting, upon learning of these claims, we took immediate action to remove this individual and prohibited him from any future participation in our programs.”

The organization added that it “has taken significant steps over many years to ensure that we aggressively address youth safety. Today, the BSA has a multi-layered process of safeguards, all of which act as barriers to abuse, including mandatory youth protection education for all volunteers, criminal background checks, mandatory reporting to law enforcement and a 24/7 Scouts First Helpline to access counseling and help needed to report any inappropriate behavior.”

More information about the organization’s youth protection policies is available at www.scouting.org/youth-safety.

Eichinger is to appear for a preliminary examination on Dec. 10. He is free on bond.