IO issue

I'm currently having an issue with some IO. I have this line:

File skin = new File(".dlskins" + File.separator + username + ".png");
BufferedImage skinBR = ImageIO.read(skin);

Whenever I run this, it always gives a IO error:

2013-07-23 13:59:13 [iNFO] [sTDERR] javax.imageio.IIOException: Can't read input file!
2013-07-23 13:59:13 [iNFO] [sTDERR] 	at javax.imageio.ImageIO.read(ImageIO.java:1301)
2013-07-23 13:59:13 [iNFO] [sTDERR] 	at kovu.teamstats.gui.GuiTeamInfoIngame.getCroppedFacialImage(GuiTeamInfoIngame.java:106)

I have checked the directory, (both in my MCP folder and my actual .minecraft folder), and they exist in both locations. What is the problem here? There's clearly an issue with the File object, but I'm not sure how to rectify the issue.