Accused of possessing and distributing computor files depicting minors in sexually explicit acts

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Two area men are charged under separate federal indictments with multiple child pornography offenses.

Christopher B. Yates, 24, of Canfield, and Charles Lee Davis Jr., 49, of Lisbon, are charged with receiving, distributing and possessing visual depiction of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern Ohio District.

Yates’ indictment charges that from on or about Sept. 25, 2013, through on or about Oct. 28, 2013, he knowingly received and distributed numerous computer files containing visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct; and that he possessed a computer on Nov. 15, 2013, that contained child pornography.

Davis’ indictment charges that on or about Nov. 7, 2013, through on or about Jan. 28, 2014, he knowingly received and distributed numerous computer files that contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Also, he is accused of possessing a computer containing child pornography on July 23, 2014.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases will be less than the maximum. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, Dettelbach said.

The cases, investigated by the Youngstown Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Sullivan.