US court gives Amos Yee, who faces child porn, grooming charges, time to 'talk to loved ones' on prosecution offer

SINGAPORE — A United States (US) court has given Singaporean Amos Yee time to discuss with his loved ones a special prosecutor's offer. 

Yee, 23, faces 18 charges, including grooming, indecently soliciting a child and possessing child pornography. His case was heard in a Chicago court early Saturday (Nov 13) morning Singapore time. 

The public defender — a lawyer employed by the state in a criminal trial to represent a defendant who is unable to afford legal help — told the court that Yee was asking for more time to "talk to loved ones" about the offer from the special prosecutor.

The special prosecutor has "graciously agreed" to hold the offer open for a month, the defence lawyer said, without giving details of the offer.

According to the US Department of Justice, a defendant may be offered a plea deal to avoid trial and "perhaps reduce his exposure to a more lengthy sentence".

The judge agreed to give Yee time to discuss the matter and he is set to return to court next month.

Yee was granted asylum in the US more than four years ago. 

He was arrested by US Marshals, a law enforcement agency, on Oct 14 last year at his apartment in Chicago’s Norwood Park East neighbourhood, the court previously heard.

He is accused of exchanging nude photos with a 14-year-old girl via messaging service WhatsApp. The alleged incidents happened between Feb 1 and June 30 in 2019, and involved thousands of texts.

When their relationship soured, the girl contacted a group of people “interested in exposing paedophiles”, the court was told.

Yee has been on remand since his arrest, with a US$1 million (S$1.35 million) bond. If found guilty, he could lose his asylum status and be deported back to Singapore.

This is not Yee’s first brush with the law.

In 2015, he was jailed in Singapore for wounding religious feelings by making remarks about Christians. About a year later, he was put behind bars again and fined on a similar charge, this time for making remarks about Christians and Muslims.

In 2017, an American immigration court granted Yee asylum in the US, despite opposition from the US Department of Homeland Security. CNA

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