Former CEO pleads guilty to child porn charges after relative finds hard drive
Yates is the former CEO of My Faith Votes – a group that encourages Christians in America to vote in every election.
When was Yates arrested?
According to the USA Today report, Jason Christopher Yates was first arrested in October 2024. My Faith Votes confirmed that he had served as the nonprofit's CEO till August 2024.
'In early August 2024, the My Faith Votes board of directors separated Jason Yates from My Faith Votes and board member Chris Sadler assumed the position of Acting CEO," My Faith Votes said in a statement to Religion News Service. "Over the last three months Chris has been working with the dedicated My Faith Votes team to encourage millions of Christians to vote, pray and think biblically about this election in America.'
How was his crime discovered?
On July 31, 2024, an individual gave the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension a hard drive containing images of child abuse.
The person claimed they had received the hard drive from a relative of Yates's who 'accidentally discovered it' inside a dresser in his office.
Yates's relative apparently chanced across the hard drive and when they tried connecting it to their computer for more storage, they discovered it contained child pornography.
When agents met Yates in September, he confirmed that the child abuse images on the hard drive did not belong to the relative who found them. Yates also told Minnesota agents that he had a prior conviction for possessing child sex abuse images, but it had been expunged from his record.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
BJP raises spectre of ‘political Islam' infiltrating Church in Kerala
The BJP has raised the spectre of 'political Islam' infiltrating the Church in Kerala. The party's State vice-president Shone George told a news conference on Monday (August 4, 2025) that radical Islamists, beholden to the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Jamaat-e-Islami, had infiltrated Church protests in sizeable numbers, including those led by bishops, across the State. He noted the presence of Islamist elements in demonstrations led by Church leaders and the laity in several locations, including Kannur, Thalassery, Kozhikode, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Mananthavady, Angamaly and Ernakulam. 'I talked to the senior-most prelate in Kerala on Monday. He seemed not to be concerned about the presence of radical Islamists among the demonstrators,' he added. Asked to adduce evidence to back his charges, Mr. George asked mediapersons to contact the State police intelligence or mine their sources in the localities. Mr. George alleged that the SDPI's gambit was to use the arrest of the nuns as a foil for alienating Christians from the BJP. The SDPI and Jamaat-e-Islami's tactics had the tacit backing of the Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]. He accused the ruling front and the Opposition of seeking to frustrate the efforts of the BJP governments at the Centre and Chhattisgarh to secure an early release for the nuns. 'Both the Congress and the CPI(M) wanted the nuns to remain in jail to ensure that the emotive issue festers and retards the BJP's bourgeoning acceptance among Christians in Kerala,' he added. Mr. George said the Vatican Council in 1964 had ruled against forced conversion. 'In contrast, if Tipu Sultan's expeditionary forays had not halted at Kodungalloor 200 years ago, Kerala's social matrix would have been different,' he added. Mr. George attacked the Congress and CPI(M) for seeking the support of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) respectively during the recent byelection in the Nilambur Assembly constituency. He said the BJP was with 'patriotic Muslims,' who, he stated, were in the majority. BJP leader S. Suresh, who is also a State vice-president, said the party would not allow political adversaries to single out State president Rajiv Chandrasekhar for criticism.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
The race for the Catholic vote in Kerala
On July 25, when the Chhattisgarh police arrested two nuns from Kerala on charges of forced conversion and trafficking, political parties in the southern State sprang into action. In a rare, united show of urgency, the LDF and the UDF dispatched separate delegations to Chhattisgarh. The BJP is in power in Chhattisgarh; yet its Kerala unit also sent a team, determined not to be outdone. All their efforts paid off as the nuns were finally granted bail by an NIA court. This wasn't the first time that Christian missionaries from Kerala faced legal trouble or vigilante hostility in north India. However, what set this case apart, and gave it sharp political resonance, was that the nuns were Catholic. Their detention triggered anger, coming as it did just months ahead of two elections: one to the local bodies and another to the Assembly. As Kerala's third largest demographic group after Hindus and Muslims, Christians, especially Catholics, have long wielded significant influence in the State — not just in education, healthcare, and charitable initiatives, but also in politics and policymaking. However, in the last few years, the community appeared to drift to the political margins. Attention turned inwards, with growing concerns over issues such as the massive wave of youth migration to the West. The Chhattisgarh episode thrust the Church back into the spotlight even as there remains ambiguity about its political alignment. Historically, the Catholic vote was regarded a pillar of support for the Congress-led UDF, especially in the central Travancore region. But that relationship began to weaken after the fall of the UDF government. The death of Kerala Congress patriarch K.M. Mani and of senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy further deepened the disconnect. The CPI(M)-led LDF was quick to seize the opportunity. By aligning with Kerala Congress (M), a splinter group with Catholic roots, it managed to break into the UDF stronghold in central Travancore. In the last Assembly elections, the LDF not only retained power, but also made significant inroads into Catholic-majority constituencies. The Church, however, did not remain silent. It challenged the LDF government on issues such as agrarian distress and wild animal attacks. Trying to reclaim lost ground, the Congress in May named Sunny Joseph, a Catholic leader with strong ties across the Catholic dioceses of central Travancore and Malabar, as head of the party in Kerala. As the Congress holds just three of the 21 seats in central Travancore, it is hoping that this appointment will lead to its political revival. Meanwhile, the BJP has been slowly cultivating the Catholic vote in Kerala. What began as an unspoken alignment on shared anxieties, such as 'love jihad' and 'narcotic jihad', gradually evolved into a strategic outreach effort. The party began inducting Christian leaders and building quiet channels with sections of the Church. In April 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church in New Delhi and then met with top bishops in Kochi. However, the honeymoon was short-lived. The violence against churches in Manipur severely strained this fledgling alliance. The BJP then attempted course correction by echoing the Church's criticism of pro-Palestinian rhetoric from rival parties and by supporting the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council's call for greater political engagement from Christians. The Waqf Board land controversy in Munambam also helped the party attract segments of the Catholic clergy and laity. Recognising the growing political stakes, the Church has begun to assert itself more in public affairs. Yet beneath this assertion lies an internal dissonance. While a few clergy members appear willing to engage with the BJP, a large section remains cautious, primarily due to the party's ties with Hindutva groups known for anti-Christian rhetoric. Just as Kerala's political class started to realise that Catholic votes are in play, the Chhattisgarh episode unfolded. For the Catholic Church, the arrests served as a wake-up call about how its clergy and members are perceived, especially in parts of north and central India. The next two election cycles could determine how the Church chooses to position itself politically. For now, every party is on high alert, knowing that this once-reliable bloc is no longer guaranteed, but is very much worth fighting for.
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- The Hindu
Christians protest, demand justice for Kerala nuns, tribal man
Christians and others took out processions and staged protests in Mangaluru and Udupi on Monday demanding justice for Kerala nuns and a tribal youth arrested in Chhattisgarh on July 25, and subsequently released on bail on August 2. Holding the protest outside mini Vidhana Soudha in Mangaluru under the auspices of Catholic Sabha Mangalore Pradesh, they stood in solidarity with Sister Preethi Mary and Sister Vandana Francis — both from Kerala — and Sukaman Mandavi of Narayanpur, arrested at Durg Railway Station on alleged charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion of three tribal women. Speaking on the occasion, Sr. Severine Menezes, former president of Mangaluru unit of the Conference of Religious India (CRI) said that Christian institutions serve the most vulnerable with education, healthcare, and social uplift. 'To accuse us of coercion is to attack every person who selflessly serves.' Fr. Dominic Vas, present CRI president of Mangaluru chapter and Parish Priest of St. Mary's Church, Bikarnakatta, stated: 'We are patriots—not fanatics. This case is fabricated and must be quashed. Justice delayed is justice denied.' Roy Castelino, Public Relation Officer of Mangaluru Diocese said: 'The woman who lodged the complaint has vanished. Yet the sisters were quickly arrested. This is not justice. We demand that Jyothi Sharma face charges for filing a false, malicious complaint.' At Udupi Catholic Sabha of Udupi Pradesh held the protest at Ajjarakadu in Udupi. Speaking on the occasion Gananatha Ekkar, a former college teacher, said that the country had over 30,000 Christian education institutes and over 50 lakh persons, from different religions, benefitted from them. The sabha demanded withdrawal of the case filed against the three persons.
