SINGAPORE: A Reddit user shared the most recent photos of Singapore-born Amos Yee, who is in prison in the United States.
The Illinois Department of Corrections pictures showed Yee in a light blue prison uniform and a white shirt underneath. His hair, which he had worn long for many years, is now in a buzz cut.
Yee, 25, is currently held at Danville Correctional Center in Danville County. His information sheet, available for public perusal, says that he is eligible for parole on Nov 7, 2025, but his projected discharge date is between “three years to life, to be determined.”
He has been incarcerated due to two offences—one for grooming and another for solicitation and possession of child p o r n o graphy, a Class One felony under Illinois criminal law, or the second-most serious type of offence.
He was first arrested in Illinois in October 2020 after it was discovered that he had been exchanging inappropriate and suggestive messages with a 14-year-old girl from Texas.
Yee and the girl allegedly messaged each other over a thousand times. Yee pleaded guilty to the charges against him and was forbidden to contact the teenager for two years.
In December 2021, he was sentenced to six years in jail, with the judge warning him at the time that he could be denied naturalization as a US citizen, should he desire the option, and could even be denied entry into the country.
The judge also told him that the convictions could affect his ability to obtain housing, employment, and other licenses, including a driver’s license, in the US. Additionally, Yee was told he could be deported to Singapore.
Read related: Amos Yee groomed girl, 14, gets 6 years’ jail and may be deported back to Singapore
He was released on parole on Oct 8, 2023, though the conditions of his parole were not disclosed.
A month later, Yee was back in jail. A message from the victim notification network on Nov 8 indicated that Yee was being held at a maximum security prison in Crest Hill, Illinois.
In the short period that Yee was freed from jail, he posted two blog entries, including one where he defended the actions that got him imprisoned in the US in the first place.
He also said he intended to return to Singapore, even though he knew he would have to serve time there for defaulting on his National Service obligations. /TISG
Read also: Amos Yee back in US jail just 1 month after parole