St. Clair County Man Charged with Distributing and Receiving Child Pornography

A federal grand jury for the Southern District of Illinois has returned a seven-count indictment charging James K. Young, 66, of Dupo, Illinois, with five counts of distributing child pornography and two counts of receiving child pornography, U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft announced today. According to the indictment, Young knowingly distributed child pornography on five separate dates from June 2017 to March 2018. On the first occasion, Young is specifically charged with distributing a digital video file depicting the anal penetration of a toddler by an adult male. The indictment further charges Young with knowingly receiving child pornography on November 7, 2017, and April 29, 2018.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

Young’s arraignment will be held on April 11, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at the federal courthouse in East Saint Louis, Illinois. Young has been summoned to appear at the arraignment.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Scott.