Dykema told police that videos of women were the result of porn addiction

KENT COUNTYAccording to an affidavit filed in the 63rd District Court, Mark Dykema, former president of Tulip Time, told investigators that it was his pornography addiction that led him to record upskirt videos of unsuspecting women in two West Michigan counties. according to reporting from WOOD TV-8.

Dykema, 39, was charged Friday in Kent County, where he is accused of taking videos under women’s clothing. In Ottawa County, he was arraigned in the 58th District Court on September 18 before Judge Juanita Bocanegra. His bond was set at $10,000 and posted.

A jury trial in Ottawa County is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 18, before Judge Jon Hulsing in the 20th Circuit Court after a preliminary investigation was waived.

“He said he had struggled with a porn addiction for years,” a Kent County detective wrote in a probable cause document, according to WOOD. “He stated that he has applications on his devices that block all pornographic websites, and that the applications send a daily report to his wife for checking. That’s why Dykema said he started making pornography because he couldn’t access pornographic websites.

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Kent County and Ottawa County are conducting a joint investigation after Dykema himself suggested he inappropriately recorded women at Trader Joe’s on 28th Street in Kentwood in August, Grand Rapids First Church on 44th Street in Wyoming in 2022, a residence in Lowell Township , and Lowe’s on Felch Street in Holland Township in August 2024, according to additional reporting from WOOD.

In both provinces, Dykema faces five charges of using a computer to commit a crime, six charges of surveilling an unclothed person and one charge of distributing an image of an unclothed person. The charge carries a prison sentence of up to four years.

Dykema previously owned several Biggby Coffees, including locations in Holland Township, Zeeland and the Haworth Hotel. According to attorney Rob Howard, Dykema has since “divested” ownership of the stores.

According to WOOD, Howard said Dykema’s actions were not work-related and there have been no allegations of misconduct at any of the stores.

Gwen Auwerda, executive director of Tulip Time, told WOOD that Dykema resigned from his position on the board in August, a month before the charges were filed.

Howard said Dykema is cooperating with investigators.

“We are in the middle of this process and hope to have this resolved as quickly as possible,” Howard told WOOD.

According to the Kent County affidavit, Dykema told Ottawa County detectives he was trying to make a recording under a woman’s dress at Lowe’s for “sexual gratification.”

After his first interview, Dykema apparently sent the detective a four-page email confessing to his actions. The Sentinel filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the email, but was denied based on the ongoing investigation and litigation.

“(He) admitted to taking additional footage of a lady’s dress in church,” investigators wrote. “(Dykema) said neither his wife nor anyone else knew he had made videos of feminine dresses, skirts and baggy shorts.”

Dykema’s phone was seized by Ottawa County for investigation via a search warrant. He remains on bail pending resolution of the cases in both provinces.

Howard told WOOD there has been no discussion about a settlement. Meanwhile, detectives continue to try to identify additional victims.

Anyone with information is asked to call Silent Observer at 616-774-2345, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office at 616-632-6125 or the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office at 616-738-4003.

— Cassidey Kavathas is a political and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @cassideykava.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Additional charges have been filed against businessman Mark Dykema in Kent County