Twice Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Transportation of Child Sexual Abuse Material While on Lifetime Parole

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS– Joseph Yantiss, 35, of Greensburg, Indiana, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to transportation of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, law enforcement learned that between August 15 and August 17, 2021, Yantiss uploaded 13 files of child sexual abuse material to his Dropbox account. Yantiss was on lifetime parole at the time of the offense. On September 27, 2021, a search warrant was issued for Yantiss’ person and his vehicle. Two cellular telephones were found in the vehicle by police. Police examined both phones, and on one of the phones they found a video depicting a prepubescent minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Police also found an email account on the phone that was the same email Yantiss used for his Dropbox account.

While Yantiss was being processed into jail, an officer found a microSD card in Yantiss’ wallet. The SD card was examined and contained three files depicting child sexual abuse material.

Yantiss was convicted of attempted child molesting and child solicitation in December 2013 and possession of child pornography in July 2018, both in Decatur County, Indiana.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Jeffrey Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Indianapolis Field Office, made the announcement.

The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. The Indiana State Police and Indiana Department of Correction’s Division of Parole Services provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker. As part of the sentence, Judge Barker ordered that Yantiss be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for life following his release from federal prison and ordered Yantiss to pay $4,000 in restitution the minor victims. Yantiss must also register as sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school, as required by law.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina M. Korobov who prosecuted this case.

This investigation was conducted by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a partnership of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies led by the Indiana State Police. The Task Force is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting crimes involving the technology-facilitated sexual exploitation of children and the trafficking of child sexual abuse material. Each year, Indiana ICAC investigators evaluate thousands of tips, investigate hundreds of cases, and rescue dozens of children from ongoing sexual abuse. In fiscal year 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, the Southern District of Indiana was second out of the 94 federal districts in the country for the number of child sexual exploitation cases prosecuted.