St. Clair County Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography

James K. Young, 66, of Dupo, Illinois, has pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving child

pornography, U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft announced today. Young is also charged with five

counts of distributing child pornography, but the United States has agreed to dismiss those charges

at the sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for May 13, 2020, in East St. Louis, Illinois.

Young was discovered by law enforcement during an online, undercover investigation. On May 3, 2018,

a federal search warrant was executed at Young’s home. His desktop computer was seized and found to

contain 2,441 images of child pornography. As part of his plea, Young admitted that he knowingly

received child pornography on Nov. 7, 2017, and April 29, 2018.

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

Scott. The 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.”