Chester Man Pleads Guilty to Second Offense of Distribution of Child Pornography

RICHMOND, VA—James Yager, age 31, of Richmond, Va., pleaded guilty today to distribution of child pornography after having previously been convicted of distribution of child pornography. Sentencing has been set for October 9, 2009. Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Jennifer Love, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck.

Yager, who was previously convicted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia of distribution of child pornography in 2001, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of 40 years’ imprisonment. Yager will also be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.

According to court documents, in May 2009, Yager engaged in Internet chats with an undercover FBI agent that culminated in Yager making available via a peer-to-peer file sharing program dozens of images of child pornography for the undercover agent to download. In June 2009, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Yager’s residence and discovered that after having been released from federal probation for his prior conviction, Yager traded hundreds of images of child pornography on the Internet using a peer-to-peer file sharing program that he had configured to allow the sharing of files through a photo card, which contained thousands of images of child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth C. Wu and Special Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence L. Muir, Jr., are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.