7-10-2023 (CHICAGO) Amos Yee, a 24-year-old Singaporean who had been granted asylum in the United States, has been released on parole after spending almost three years behind bars. Yee’s imprisonment stemmed from his involvement with a 14-year-old girl from Texas, during which he groomed and exchanged explicit photographs with her.
The case unfolded when Yee, then 20 years old, initiated an “online courtship” with the young Texan girl while residing in Norwood Park East, Chicago. The illicit relationship involved the exchange of thousands of messages and explicit images between February and July 2019, despite Yee being fully aware of the girl’s age.
As their relationship soured, the girl reached out to a group dedicated to exposing individuals engaged in inappropriate activities with minors, ultimately leading to Yee’s arrest.
Amos Yee had been in custody since his arrest on October 8, 2020, and was formally charged on October 17, 2020. He later entered a plea deal, admitting guilt to charges of grooming and possessing child pornography on December 3, 2023, leading to the dismissal of 16 other charges.
The sentencing saw Yee handed a six-year jail term, which was backdated to his arrest in October 2020. However, inmate records obtained by Mothership in July 2023 indicated that Yee’s release occurred three years ahead of his projected discharge date of October 8, 2026. According to CNA, this early release was facilitated after a parole hearing, placing him on mandatory supervised released status, thus no longer being in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections as of October 7, 2023. Yee is now mandated to be listed on the sex offender registry.
Yee’s legal saga began in December 2016 when he left Singapore for Chicago, one day prior to reporting for a medical examination required for National Service enlistment. Upon arrival in the U.S., Yee sought political asylum, which was granted by an Immigration Court judge in Illinois in March 2017. However, this decision was challenged by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, asserting that Yee had been legitimately prosecuted by the Singaporean Government, and that the judge had made factual and legal errors. Despite these objections, an immigration appeals board upheld Yee’s asylum application, granting him protected status in September 2017.
During his sentencing, Yee was informed that pleading guilty could result in potential consequences, such as deportation from the U.S., denial of admission to the U.S., or being barred from naturalization as a U.S. citizen in the future.
