A registered sex offender, Justin Trey Yeats, 41, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison today for producing and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina announced the sentencing, which also includes a lifetime of supervised release, mandatory sex offender registration post-release, and $6,000 in restitution.
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) initiated an investigation in April 2023 after receiving information about Yeats distributing CSAM online. During an interview, Yeats admitted to producing CSAM involving a prepubescent female victim and sharing it in online sex-related chatrooms, including Reddit.
Court records further revealed that Yeats molested a second minor victim and distributed images of that victim. At the time of these offenses, Yeats was already a registered sex offender due to a 2010 conviction for Indecency with a Child by Contact in Texas.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson acknowledged the collaborative efforts of the FBI and CMPD in the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Cervantes prosecuted the case, which falls under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation.