The former CEO of My Faith Votes has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.
Jason Yates, 56, pleaded guilty to two of the eight felony counts he was charged with, according to USA Today.
My Faith Votes was founded in 2015 by Yates’s uncle, Sealy Yates, an attorney who previously served on President Donald Trump’s advisory board. While the organisation describes itself as a “non-partisan” non-profit, it has backed several Republican officials with conservative views.
Jason Yates served as CEO until August 2024 — a month after agents received a tip-off that he had inappropriate images on a hard drive.
“In early August 2024, the My Faith Votes board of directors separated Jason Yates from My Faith Votes, and board member Chris Sadler assumed the position of Acting CEO," My Faith Votes told Religion News Service in a statement. "Over the last three months, Chris has been working with the dedicated My Faith Votes team to encourage millions of Christians to vote, pray, and think biblically about this election in America.”
Jason Yates was arrested and charged in October 2024 after a relative handed over a hard drive containing the images to authorities on 31 July 2024.
It remains unclear what the relationship was between the relative and Yates. The individual told agents they had “accidentally discovered it” inside a dresser in the former CEO’s office when trying to use the drive for extra storage. The hard drive reportedly contained more than 100 sexually explicit images, according to court documents obtained by USA Today.
Yates allegedly confirmed to agents that the child abuse images on the hard drive did not belong to the relative who found them. He also admitted to a previous conviction for possessing child pornography, although the record had since been expunged.
Yates is scheduled to be sentenced on 29 September.