Edis Kayalar, 26, was indicted for seeking to extort $100,000 from model Cindy Crawford (Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department)
LOS ANGELES -- A German man accused of trying to extort money from supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband has turned himself in to police, according to German prosecutors.
Prosecutors in the southwestern city of Stuttgart say 26-year-old Edis Kayalar walked into a police station late Monday.
Kayalar is accused of threatening to release a photograph showing the couple's daughter bound to a chair and gagged.
Officials say even after Kayalar was deported he continued to demand money, asking for $100,000.
The photo was taken by the couple's former nanny and reportedly shows the girl, who was 7 years old at the time, bound to a chair wearing shorts and a T-shirt, according to court papers filed by the FBI.
The daughter told her parents that the nanny took the picture as part of a "cops and robbers" game, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
Neither Crawford nor her husband, Rande Gerber, knew about the photo and did not consent to any photo being taken of their daughter.
The nanny, whose name has not been released, has not been charged. She was fired a week before Kayalar called the couple, according to the documents.
Kayalar stole the photo from the nanny and repeatedly sought to get money from Crawford and Gerber, starting in July, according to the document.
Kayalar initially said he wanted to return the photo because he was a good person and didn't want to see it land in the tabloids,the affidavit said.
Gerber later met with him at a bar, where Kayalar showed him a copy of the photo and said he also took a handwritten note from the nanny's apartment that read, "The baby sitter went crazy and tied everyone up and they need your help! Please."
The nanny said she had taken the photo as a prank and was going to post it and the note on the front door of the family's house, according to the affidavit. The nanny never went through with the joke.
Gerber eventually got the photo from Kayalar and paid him $1,000 in cash "for his trouble," the affidavit said.
But Kayalar is accused of demanding more money while saying he had another copy of the photo and would sell it or release it to the media if his demands weren't met, the affidavit said.
Crawford's spokeswoman Annett Wolf issued a statement saying, "Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford intend to pursue any and all available legal action against anyone who aids the perpetrator in the distribution or sale of the photograph of their daughter."
Crawford and Gerber married in 1998. They have two children.
Kayalar has been charged with one count of extortion. If convicted, he could face up to two years in prison.
Prosecutors in the southwestern city of Stuttgart say 26-year-old Edis Kayalar walked into a police station late Monday.
Kayalar is accused of threatening to release a photograph showing the couple's daughter bound to a chair and gagged.
Officials say even after Kayalar was deported he continued to demand money, asking for $100,000.
The photo was taken by the couple's former nanny and reportedly shows the girl, who was 7 years old at the time, bound to a chair wearing shorts and a T-shirt, according to court papers filed by the FBI.
The daughter told her parents that the nanny took the picture as part of a "cops and robbers" game, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
Neither Crawford nor her husband, Rande Gerber, knew about the photo and did not consent to any photo being taken of their daughter.
The nanny, whose name has not been released, has not been charged. She was fired a week before Kayalar called the couple, according to the documents.
Kayalar stole the photo from the nanny and repeatedly sought to get money from Crawford and Gerber, starting in July, according to the document.
Kayalar initially said he wanted to return the photo because he was a good person and didn't want to see it land in the tabloids,the affidavit said.
Gerber later met with him at a bar, where Kayalar showed him a copy of the photo and said he also took a handwritten note from the nanny's apartment that read, "The baby sitter went crazy and tied everyone up and they need your help! Please."
The nanny said she had taken the photo as a prank and was going to post it and the note on the front door of the family's house, according to the affidavit. The nanny never went through with the joke.
Gerber eventually got the photo from Kayalar and paid him $1,000 in cash "for his trouble," the affidavit said.
But Kayalar is accused of demanding more money while saying he had another copy of the photo and would sell it or release it to the media if his demands weren't met, the affidavit said.
Crawford's spokeswoman Annett Wolf issued a statement saying, "Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford intend to pursue any and all available legal action against anyone who aids the perpetrator in the distribution or sale of the photograph of their daughter."
Crawford and Gerber married in 1998. They have two children.
Kayalar has been charged with one count of extortion. If convicted, he could face up to two years in prison.
