KC Reporter

A Kansas City woman has been sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of two children. Jessica Ann Young, aged 34, received her sentence from U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough without the possibility of parole.

Jessica Young had previously pleaded guilty on March 11, 2024, to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Her husband, Houston Wade Young, aged 37, was sentenced earlier on July 30, 2024, to life imprisonment without parole after pleading guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor on January 30, 2024.

The case against Houston Young began when he was found with a cell phone containing child pornography images while detained at Vernon County jail in March 2020. He was awaiting a civil proceeding to determine his status as a sexually violent predator due to prior sex offense convictions.

Investigations revealed that Jessica Young had sent pornographic images of a seven-year-old child identified as "John Doe 1" to Houston Young's cell phone. Text messages between the couple discussed the abuse of John Doe 1 and included multiple pornographic images sent by Jessica Young.

Jessica Young admitted to sexually abusing two child victims: John Doe 1 and another child identified as John Doe 2, aged thirteen. She also confessed to recording videos of herself abusing John Doe 2.

Forensic analysis showed that Houston Young shared child pornography with Jessica Young and another victim identified as "Jane Doe," aged sixteen. He engaged in inappropriate communications with Jane Doe through various platforms including text messages and video chats.

Houston Young has a history of similar offenses with previous felony convictions for child molestation in Wright County in 2005 and possession of child pornography in Jackson County in 2016. In February 2021, he was involuntarily committed to Missouri's Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Services program.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller prosecuted this case which involved investigations by the FBI along with local law enforcement agencies from Vernon County and Kentucky Department of Criminal Investigations.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The project coordinates resources across federal, state, and local levels to prosecute offenders and rescue victims.