ANCHORAGE, Alaska – United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that an Anchorage psychotherapist was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to 22 years in federal prison for the production and receipt of child pornography.

On December 5, 2011, Andrew William Young, 48, a resident of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge John W. Sedwick. Upon completion of his prison term, Young must serve a lifetime of supervised release.

Young was sentenced to 264 months in prison for taking photographs of a boy, believed to be approximately 12-years-old, and 240 months in prison for receiving and possessing sexually explicit videos and images of hundreds of other children. The two sentences are to run concurrently.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Audrey J. Renschen, Young, who had no criminal record, worked as a psychotherapist, counselor and educator over his adult lifetime. His crimes included not only producing child pornography, but also collecting over 747 videos, and 4,300 pictures of child pornography – the Sentencing Guidelines equivalent of over 60,000 images – that included children under age twelve, material depicting bestiality with children, bondage with sexual abuse of children, and sadistic or masochistic conduct, and depictions of violence.

Young reported embarrassment about being in court, but alleged that his involvement with child pornography was for research purposes. Judge Sedwick stated, “I don’t doubt it’s for gratification.”

In ordering Young’s sentence, Judge Sedwick noted the “very, very serious” nature of these child exploitation crimes, and stated that they “steal children’s childhood. I can’t imagine a worse thief.” Judge Sedwick noted these acts were “unspeakably horrible things to do to a child,” and commented that “any sentence ought to nail down that this is serious.”

After serving his 22 years in prison, Young will be monitored on supervised release for the rest of his life, and be required to comply with special conditions, e.g.,

• to have no contact with any person under the age of 18 years without adult supervision,
• to not seek employment, engage in leisure activities or loiter near places designated primarily for minors such as schools, parks, and arcades, which may bring the defendant into unsupervised contact with any person under the age of 18 years,
• to participate in a program of sex offender assessment and treatment,
• to register as a sex offender, and
• to surrender any and all educator/psychotherapist/social worker licenses/certificates he holds issued inside or outside the United States.

Ms. Loeffler commends the Anchorage Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and Alaska State Troopers for their joint investigation of this case as part of Alaska’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better identify, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Source: USDJ-Alaska