Peter Yang, a 34-year-old resident of Fresno, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of a minor. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
Following his prison term, Yang will be subject to 15 years of supervised release with restrictions on his access to children, computers, and the internet. He is also required to pay $5,000 in restitution and must register as a sex offender upon release.
Court documents indicate that between November 2021 and March 2022, Yang communicated with a 15-year-old victim from Missouri through the gaming platform Among Us, later using Discord and FaceTime calls. He coerced the victim into producing and sending sexually explicit images and discussed traveling from California to Missouri to meet the victim at a motel near their residence.
The investigation was conducted by the Christian County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri and the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.
“This case was brought 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 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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
