Martin County man convicted of child porn charges

By Lilly Adkins

BSN Associate Editor

PIKEVILLE —A Martin County man was convicted of child pornography charges in federal court following a three-day trial that began on April 10.

Donald York, 60, of Beauty, was convicted Wednesday, April 12, of four counts of the production of child pornography and two counts of distributing child porn. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 24.

“According to evidence presented, York used a minor female victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct, for the purpose of producing images of that conduct,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “The United States further established that York uploaded some of the victim’s photos to a pornographic website.’”

York was indicted in June 2022. According to the indictment, on or about Dec. 30, 2019, and again on or about Jan. 2, 2020, York allegedly employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced a minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct. The visual depiction was produced using materials that had been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce and the visual depiction was actually transmitted using any means and facility of interstate and foreign commerce, the indictment says.

On or about Jan. 4, 2020, York allegedly distributed a visual depiction that had been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce, by any means including by computer, the production of such visual depiction having involved the use of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the indictment says.

York faces a minimum of five years, up to 20 years in prison on each count of conviction, the release said. But the court must consider U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the applicable federal sentencing statutes before imposing sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Kentucky State Police and the Ashland Police Department. The United States was represented in the case by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Blankenship and Jason Parman.

The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov