KC Reporter

A Kansas City woman, Jessica Ann Young, 33, has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to the sexual exploitation of two child victims. According to a report by the Department of Justice, Jessica Young admitted to sexually abusing two child victims, identified as John Doe 1 and 13-year-old John Doe 2, on multiple occasions at a residence in Clay County, Missouri. She also confessed to recording video of herself sexually abusing John Doe 2.

In a plea agreement, it was revealed that Jessica's husband, Houston Wade Young, 36, had also pleaded guilty to one count of the sexual exploitation of a minor on January 30, 2024. The court documents detailed disturbing conversations and actions between the couple, with investigators finding text messages discussing the sexual abuse of the child victims. Multiple pornographic images were exchanged between Jessica and Houston Young, with additional images of child pornography found on Houston's cell phone.

Houston Young, who has two prior felony convictions related to the sexual exploitation of children, is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years in federal prison without parole, up to life in federal prison without parole. Jessica Young, on the other hand, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole on each of the two counts.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller and was investigated by the FBI, the Vernon County Sheriff’s Department, and the Kentucky Department of Criminal Investigations. The prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office. The state has agreed to dismiss charges against Jessica Young of statutory rape and statutory sodomy in Clay County Circuit Court after she has been sentenced in federal court.