Trending
A Sugar Grove resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of violating federal child sexual exploitation laws.
The 11-count indictment named William Kenneth Young, 53, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment, Young received and attempted to receive material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor between August 2025 and October 2025. In November and December of 2025, and in January, March, and July 2026, the defendant also distributed and attempted to distribute material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor. The Indictment further alleges that, in July 2026, Young possessed and accessed with intent to view material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.
As to the receipt and distribution charges, the law provides for a sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. For the possession charge, the law provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Conewango Township Police Department, and the Warren County District Attorney's Office conducted the investigation leading to the indictment. The federal charges were 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 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 Justice.gov/PSC.
Local charges were filed against Young in July, with the Sugar Grove man jailed on $250,000 bail after a lengthy investigation. Young was charged with three counts of second-degree felony disseminating photo/film of child sex acts/sexual abuse materials, three counts of second-degree felony child sexual abuse material, three counts of third-degree felony child sexual abuse material and three counts of third-degree felony disseminating photo/film of child sex acts/sexual abuse materials. He has since been transferred to the Erie County Prison, with bail still $250,000 according to online court docket information.
According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause filed in July, the investigation involved the Web Response Against Traffickers and Harmers Unit of the Warren County District Attorney's Office that was created in September 2025 by District Attorney Cody Brown. A detective assigned to the unit said the investigation began in December 2025 when a video file was uploaded to servers operated by Meta, generating a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children report. The detective obtained subscriber information associated with the identified IP address that identified Young as the subscriber for the IP address. On Dec. 23 the detective received another cyber tip regarding a message uploaded on WhatsApp Inc, a messaging service owned by Meta. A preservation letter was submitted and a search warrant prepared to view the file. The material was not viewed by a person but through a database. The material was then identified as child sexual abuse material. On New Year's Eve the detective made contact with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, whose representative described the video as an underage girl engaged in prohibited sexual activity. It was believed the video originated in Japan. Search warrants were served in January to WhatsApp and Verizon, neither of whom were able to provide any subscriber information, addresses or phone numbers. Little happened until April 16, when a review of additional CyberTips were received allegedly involving Young, who was using at least two aliases, and communications with a person believed to be located in the Philippines. That report identified the same phone number found earlier in the investigation belonging to Young, with location data for the phone placing it within 50 feet of Young's home.
Search warrants were served on Facebook and Google on April 27 for Facebook profiles of Young's aliases as well as the email accounts for one of Young's aliases and the Philippines resident with whom Young had allegedly been communicating. The next day Google responded with an email address. It was determined that Young was using the same cell phone to receive child sexual abuse material using two aliases. Messages associated with one of Young's aliases also included a 190-second video call with the Philippines resident who Young had been communicating with that were of a sexual nature, according to the affidavit, and referenced an underage child.
"Through subscriber records, CyberTipline reports, Meta records, device identifiers, location data, phone number attribution and communications recovered pursuant to search warrants, investigators identified William K. Young as the user of the Facebook accounts 'Steve Young,' 'Mike Smith' and 'Bill Yg,’" the affidavit states. "The investigation further established that Young utilized those accounts and associated devices to possess and transmit multiple files previously identified by the NCEMC as child sexual abuse materials."
"Your affiant further notes that the defendant has a prior criminal history, including convictions for burglary and persons not to possess firearms," the affidavit states. "Given the defendant's criminal history, his connections outside Warren County, mainly Ohio, Texas, Philippines and the seriousness of the offenses under investigation, your affiant respectfully requests that a high monetary bail be imposed to ensure the defendant's appearance and to protect the community."
The county District Attorney’s WRATH unit targets offenders who attempt to victimize children through online communication or by possessing and distributing child pornography. By utilizing advanced investigative technology, WRATH will identify predators and hold them accountable under the law. WRATH will also work in partnership with other law enforcement agencies across the Commonwealth and is formally associated with ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children), a nationwide program of task forces dedicated to combating the sexual exploitation of children online.