Washington – Singaporean blogger Amos Yee was given about a month to consider the plea deal for the child pornography charges he currently faces.
Yee, 23, was charged with solicitation and possession of child porn in October 2020. He faces 18 charges, including grooming and indecently soliciting a child.
It was reported that he had exchanged nude photos and “thousands” of messages with a 14-year-old girl from Texas while he was in Chicago.
Yee was arrested last October and has been on remand since. His bail is set at US$1 million (S$1.35 million), reported The Straits Times on Saturday (Nov 13).
Yee has become infamous for his run-ins with the law, such as being convicted and imprisoned twice in Singapore.
He was charged with harassment and insulting a religious group in 2015 and again in 2016 over similar charges.
He arrived in the United States in 2016 and was granted asylum a year later.
During a hearing at a Chicago court on Friday morning (Nov 12), Yee’s lawyer said her client was “asking for additional time to talk to loved ones about the offer.”
A special prosecutor agreed to keep the plea deal, offered in October 2021, open for one month.
However, Cook County Judge Carol Howard said, “It should not take him a month to talk this matter over with his loved ones.”
According to ST, the court hearing lasted two minutes; his next court date is scheduled for Dec 2, 2021.
The US Department of Justice notes that plea deals can be offered when prosecutors are deemed to have a strong case. The plea deal allows the defendant to avoid trial and reduce exposure to a lengthier sentence.
If Yee is convicted, his asylum status can be revoked, and he will be deported back to Singapore./TISG
Read related: Amos Yee may be deported back to SG if found guilty, currently remanded in US for possession of child porn