U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon release – EUGENE, Ore.—A North Bend, Oregon man suspected of abusing multiple children has been indicted in federal court. Christopher Jay Young, 39, has been charged in a two-count indictment with attempting to use a minor to produce a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct and attempting to coerce and entice a minor. According to the indictment, on or about January 20, 2024, Young is alleged to have knowingly and intentionally persuaded a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and record the conduct. Young’s crimes involving one minor victim, as alleged in the indictment, are part of a broader series of similar abusive crimes he is suspected to have committed involving multiple other children during a similar timeframe. Between April 4 and 8, 2024, the FBI applied for and obtained multiple federal search warrants for Young’s person, home and vehicles. On April 11, 2024, special agents and deputies from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the Oregon State Police, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office executed the warrants and arrested Young. Five days later, on April 16, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Young. He was arraigned on the indictment Wednesday in federal court in Eugene by a U.S. Magistrate Judge. Young pleaded not guilty and was ordered detained pending further court proceedings. Attempting to use a minor to produce a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct is punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison with a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. Attempted coercion and enticement of a minor is punishable by up to life in prison with a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence. This case is being investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Lane County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by William M. McLaren, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. It is important to remember child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document the victims’ exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, they re-victimize and re-traumatize the child victims each time their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
