TROY | A 20-year-old man burglarizing an apartment pried open a tackle box and found nude photos of young girls, including his little sister.

The man turned himself and the pictures into police, who later arrested the apartment's tenant, a registered sex offender now facing a possible life sentence after being charged with rape of a child under the age of 13 and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.

Police said the rape charge against Richard Yearsley, 51, involved sexual touching in March of a child who was just under 4.

The 20-year-old man told police he watched Yearsley, whom he knew, leave the apartment and broke in once he left. Police said he then became enraged when he saw his 4-year-old sister's picture among "numerous" Polaroid photos of nude or partially nude young girls inside the tackle box.

He showed some of the photos to the building maintenance man, who convinced him to go to the police.

Police then searched the apartment late Friday and found photos of other young children in various states of dress.

The man said he knew what he had done was wrong, but "he knew that Yearsley was involved in something much worse and had to be stopped," according to the police report.

Police said that Yearsley admitted to taking photos of four other children during the past couple of years, and sexually touching some of them.

Wayne Willcox, deputy Piqua police chief, said the 20-year-old's case was referred to the city prosecutor to determine what charges will be filed.

Yearsley was registered as a sexually oriented offender with the Miami County Sheriff's Office following a 1995 conviction in Miami County for felony gross sexual imposition and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.

Bail for Yearsley was set at $150,000 at arraignment Monday in Miami County Municipal Court.

Yearsley's preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday .

The Dayton Daily News is not identifying the 20-year-old man in order to protect the identity of his sister.

The focker who lived in the apartment is g-damn good and lucky he isn't dead.

The burglary is wrong, clearly, and he should pay for that, but this is one time I can say that he was doing what he was doing.

That's a strange twist in the story.

In a way, it was bad that the guy broke into that Yearsley dude's apartment, but in retrospect, it was a good thing he did.

One thing about it, that 20 year old did the right thing, even though he risked arrest. It goes to show that he loves his little sis, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I never thought I'd say this, but thank God for that burglar! Imagine how many more kids this perv would have gotten his hands on had that guy not broken in. I have to agree with Metalfan's assessment! ;)

This is certainly an odd twist of fate. At least the child molester has been discovered and there should be ample proof the convict him for his heinous crimes...

Yeah! I read about this incident. Weird story. It really makes you think about crime not paying. This is one instance where I hope the burglar will get off with a light sentence like probation. I mean, he did come forward about his crime in order to turn in that putrid slug of a paedophile and possibly sparing other children in that neighboorhood from that sexual predator...

He is VERY LUCKY he wasnt locked up.. (For breaking into the guys apartment -- Its good that he did though -- A happy ending for all...)

And the guy is lucky he didnt wait till he got home and beat the shit out of him!