18/10/2020

Amos Yee charged with child porn in the US

Update 23 Mar 2022: Amos Yee photos in US prison surface online - 'He looks 40-plus'
Singaporean blogger Amos Yee who was charged with solicitation and possession of child porn in October 2020

Prison photos of convicted sex offender Amos Yee have emerged on the internet, after some sleuthing by a Hardwarezone user on March 19, according to Mothership.sg.

The 23-year-old Yee is currently in custody at the Illinois River Correctional Centre in the United States. The Singaporean blogger is serving a six-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to two charges of child pornography and grooming. He was sentenced on Dec 2, 2021.

In the photos, Yee is sporting long hair and wearing a light blue garment under a jacket. Hardwarezone users were quick to comment on Yee's appearance.


Amos Yee Looks A Decade Older In US Prison Mugshot, Youthful Face Has Turned Gaunt
23-Year-Old Amos Yee Must Be Listed On Sex Offender Registry

As he’s been through more court cases that most of us have in our lifetime, it’s easy to  forget that Amos Yee is still only 23.

However, his current prison stint in the United States (US) seems to have taken a toll on his appearance – the formerly youthful Singaporean now looks at least a decade older. That’s judging from the latest photos of him recorded by the prison he’s residing in.

Even if life’s not too good on the inside, he can still look forward to potential parole just next year, in 2023.


New photos of Amos Yee in U.S. prison emerge online

Prison photos of convicted sex offender Amos Yee have emerged on the Internet, after some sleuthing by a Hardwarezone user on Mar. 19.

The 23-year-old Yee is currently in custody at the Illinois River Correctional Center in the United States.

Yee is currently serving a six-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to two charges of grooming and possessing child pornography.


Current photos of Amos Yee in US prison revealed, netizens speculate when he’ll be deported back to SG
In case you were wondering what had happened to Amos Yee, the rather vocal pro-paedophilia activist who was given a six-year jail sentence in December last year in the United States, you need not look any further.

Recent photos of him have surfaced, and they are not pretty (or so netizens say). Prison photos of convicted sex offender Amos Yee have emerged on the Internet, after they were discovered by a Hardwarezone user Saturday (Mar 19).

To recap, Yee, 23, had previously pleaded guilty to two charges of child pornography and grooming. He had solicited and exchanged nude photos with a girl from Texas who was only 14 at the time. The two charges on which he was convicted are for child pornography and grooming. The charge of child pornography is a Class One felony and, under Illinois criminal law, the second-most serious type of offence.


Amos Yee sentenced to six years jail in the US
Singaporean blogger Amos Yee was charged with solicitation and possession of child porn in October 2020. PHOTO: CHICAGO POLICE

Singaporean blogger Amos Yee was sentenced by a US court on Thursday (Dec 2) to six years in jail, after he pleaded guilty to two charges of child pornography and grooming. Yee, 23, was also ordered by the Chicago court not to contact the victim, who was then 14 years old, for two years after his release from jail. Yee had also faced 16 other child pornography-related charges, which were dismissed as part of a plea deal he accepted.

According to the first charge of child pornography, Yee solicited, persuaded and induced the victim to appear on video and other mediums and pose, which involved lewd behaviour, between February and July 2019. The charge, a class one felony and second-most serious type of offence under Illinois criminal law, carried a prison sentence of at least four years and up to 15 years.

According to the second charge of grooming, Yee knowingly used WhatsApp to seduce, solicit and lure the victim to pose for photographs, which he distributed on WhatsApp, over the same period. That charge had a minimum jail term of one year and maximum of three years.


Amos Yee faces deportation if convicted of child porn charges
Singaporean Amos Yee allegedly exchanged nude photos with a 14-year-old Texas girl while in Chicago. He was jailed twice in Singapore, in 2015 and 2016, for wounding religious feelings. He has been living in the United States after being granted asylum there in 2017. PHOTO: CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTME

Singaporean blogger Amos Yee, 20, was charged with solicitation and possession of child pornography in an Illinois court on Friday, according to local media reports.

Yee, who was jailed twice in Singapore, in 2015 and 2016, for wounding religious feelings, was granted asylum in the United States in 2017 and has been living in Chicago since then.

He allegedly exchanged nude photos and thousands of messages with a 14-year-old Texas girl while in Chicago, reported the Chicago Sun-Times daily newspaper.


Amos Yee charged with child porn in the US: Report
Yee, 20, appeared at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse for a bond hearing on Friday

Singaporean Amos Yee, who was granted asylum in the United States three years ago, has been charged with solicitation and possession of child porn in the US, according to the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.

Yee - who was jailed in Singapore in 2015 and 2016 for hate speech against both Christians and Muslims - allegedly exchanged nude photographs and “thousands” of messages with a 14-year-old Texas girl while living in Chicago, the newspaper wrote on Friday (Oct 16).

If convicted, Yee’s asylum status could be revoked.


Amos Yee charged in US court for solicitation and possession of child porn
Amos Yee after his release from detention in Chicago in 2017. (PHOTO: Reuters/Chris Kenning)

Singaporean blogger Amos Yee, who gained notoriety for being jailed for controversial social media posts in 2015 and 2016, was charged with solicitation and possession of child porn in an Illinois court on Friday (16 October).

According to Chicago Sun Times, the 20-year-old allegedly exchanged nude photos and “thousands” of messages with a 14-year-old Texas girl while he was living in Chicago. Prosecutors said they obtained messages Yee exchanged between April and July 2019 with the girl, who repeatedly brought up her age. Yee had also instructed the teenager to remove her age from her profile on WhatsApp in the messages.

When their relationship eventually soured and the girl reached out to a group “interested in exposing pedophiles”, Homeland Security officials were notified, prosecutors said. Yee was taken into custody on Thursday at his home.


‘Internet troll’ Amos Yee charged with child porn
The former Singaporean national was granted asylum in the U.S. after he was jailed twice overseas as a teenager for his controversial posts

Blogger, YouTuber and all around “internet troll” Amos Yee allegedly exchanged nude photos and “thousands” of messages with a 14-year-old Texas girl while he was living in Chicago.

The 20-year-old Singaporean national, who appeared at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse Friday for solicitation and possession of child porn charges, gained international fame when he was jailed at 16 in his home country for controversial and obscene online posts he made following the death of the Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 2015. He was jailed again in 2016 for “wounding religious feelings” over his social media posts on on Christianity and Islam, according to an NPR.

Yee fled Singapore and was granted asylum in the United States after being detained at O’Hare Airport by immigration officials. He has been living in Chicago for about three years, Cook County prosecutors said.


Amos Yee in US court for child porn charges
Photo of Amos Yee from Chicago Police and screenshot of Amos Yee's twitter account before it was removed

20-year old Singaporean Amos Yee who was granted asylum in United States, has been brought to Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago on Friday (16 Oct) for solicitation and possession of child porn charges.

According to Chicago Suntimes (CST), Yee allegedly exchanged nude photos and “thousands” of messages with a 14-year-old Texas girl while he was living in Chicago. According to Cook County prosecutors, the blogger and Youtuber has been living in Chicago for about three years.

Yee then generated controversy in the U.S. when he began posting to his now-removed YouTube channel and Twitter advocating for pedophiles, and was subsequently banned or blocked from using these two social media platforms. His Facebook account was also removed as a result of his activities. Prosecutors said Yee also ran a pro-pedophile forum on a message board – which the service provider also took action by shutting down the server, as well as the accounts of everyone involved in it.


U.S. Grants Asylum To Amos Yee, Young Blogger From Singapore
Amos Yee, a blogger who fled Singapore, spoke to reporters outside of the U.S. immigration field office in Chicago on Tuesday after being released from federal custody

Amos Yee, a teenage blogger who shot to fame after posting a video celebrating the death of Singapore's founding ruler, has been granted asylum in the U.S., after spending nine months in immigration detention. The 18-year-old fled Singapore, which has strict laws governing speech and public expression, because he feared persecution.

Yee came to the U.S. after spending two weeks-long stints in prison in Singapore. In the end, though, he was detained by the U.S. government for months longer than he had been imprisoned in his home country. A U.S. immigration judge had initially granted Yee's request for asylum back in March. But the Department of Homeland Security appealed that ruling, and Yee was then held in detention centers run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals recently dismissed the federal agency's appeal, agreeing with immigration Judge Samuel Cole that Singapore's criminal charges against Yee were a "pretext" to silence him. It also said Singapore's treatment of Yee had risen to the level of persecution — a finding DHS had contested. Yee was 16 when he was first arrested; the appeals board noted that his treatment included "being imprisoned with only adults and being placed in a mental institution with difficult conditions."


Amos Yee says he looks forward to making new videos after being granted asylum in US
Blogger Amos Yee, who left Singapore for Chicago last December, said he wanted to make more videos, expanding his horizons to include the US

Singaporean Amos Yee, fresh out of nine months' detention in American jails after being granted asylum by the US authorities on Tuesday (Sept 26), says he plans to make more videos, expanding his horizons to include the United States, and then move to bigger projects.

Asked if he planned to study, the 18-year-old said:
  • "Hell, no."
  • "The plan is to make more and more videos. I came here to escape the horrible anti-free speech laws in Singapore. Now I can get back to work, get back to my life," he told The Straits Times.
  • "I am thinking I'll do the video thing and the Internet activism on Facebook and YouTube for as long as I'm satisfied," he said.
  • "I don't think I'll be satisfied just being like a YouTuber even if I become like really famous."
  • "I also want to broaden my horizon in more collaborative and huge projects like film and video games. Maybe I'll do the videos for a couple of years and then after that branch out into bigger projects," he said over the phone from Chicago.
  • "Maybe like a comedy show or a drama," he continued. "I'm still very interested in making more political videos. I have many ideas for comedy."
Mr Yee arrived in Chicago last December seeking political asylum, and was routinely detained. The detention became prolonged when although he was granted asylum, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contested that and for the duration of the legal proceedings he was kept in detention despite his lawyer's attempts to get him released. On Tuesday, the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed the DHS's appeal opposing asylum.


US appeals board gives asylum nod to Amos Yee
Amos Yee arrives at Singapore's State Courts on Aug 17, 2016. PHOTO: ST FILE

Singaporean Amos Yee has been released from detention after a United States immigration appeals board upheld his application for asylum, citing his fear of persecution.

His lawyer, Ms Sandra Grossman, said on Tuesday that the US Board of Immigration Appeals had dismissed the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) appeal opposing an immigration judge's earlier decision to grant asylum to the 18-year-old. "Amos Yee is now a free man!" he wrote in a Facebook post at about 7am Singapore time yesterday.

The blogger had left Singapore for Chicago last December, a day before he was to report for a medical examination ahead of enlistment into national service. He sought political asylum on arrival in the US.


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