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Independent Singapore
22-05-2025
- Independent Singapore
Amos Yee to remain in US jail another six months, faces possible lifetime monitoring
Convicted sex offender and former Singaporean blogger Amos Yee will remain behind bars in the United States for at least another six months, following a ruling by Illinois state authorities. The 26-year-old, who was initially scheduled for parole in April, now faces a projected release date of November 7, 2025. A search on the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) website shows that Yee's new parole date falls exactly two years after his re-incarceration in 2023. His projected discharge date, which marks the end of mandatory supervised release, has also been updated — it now ranges from three years to life, subject to further review. Under Illinois law, an offender's discharge date reflects when they are officially released from parole, also known as mandatory supervised release. 'Amos Yee is not eligible to resume mandatory supervised release until Nov 7, 2025, due to the Prisoner Review Board determining he violated the terms of his release,' an IDOC spokesperson confirmed. The department did not elaborate on the nature of the violation. Yee is currently serving his sentence at Danville Correctional Center, a medium-security prison for adult males located nearly three hours from Chicago. He had previously been housed at Illinois River Correctional Center, another medium-security facility. The Singaporean made headlines nearly a decade ago as a teenage blogger known for his controversial posts. He fled to the US in December 2016, just before he was due to report for a medical check-up ahead of his national service enlistment. He was granted political asylum in 2017, claiming he had been persecuted in Singapore for his views. But trouble followed him across the Pacific. In 2020, he was arrested for sexually exploiting a 14-year-old girl living in Texas. Investigators found that he had asked the teenager to send him nude photos, and in return, sent explicit images of himself. The two had exchanged thousands of messages on WhatsApp, many of them involving sexual fantasies. The girl had repeatedly made her age clear to him. Yee pleaded guilty to grooming and possessing child pornography and was sentenced to six years in prison. He was initially held at Illinois River Correctional Center before being paroled in October 2023 — three years ahead of his full sentence. But just a month later, he was sent back to prison. The reasons remain unclear. Since his conviction, Yee has been listed on the US sex offender registry, which makes his name, offence and home address publicly available.
Malay Mail
21-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Singaporean Amos Yee faces more jail time after parole breach, possible lifetime monitoring
SINGAPORE, May 21 — Amos Yee, a Singaporean convicted of child sex offences in the United States, will remain in prison for at least another six months after breaching the terms of his parole. The Straits Times reported today that the Illinois Department of Corrections said Yee, 26, is now scheduled for potential release on parole on November 7, 2025. That date marks exactly two years since he was returned to custody after initially being granted early parole in October 2023. He had been due for full release in April this year. His updated projected discharge date is listed as 'three years to life', with the final duration to be determined by the authorities. In Illinois, this refers to when an individual is expected to complete their parole, formally known as mandatory supervised release. 'Amos Yee is not eligible to resume mandatory supervised release until Nov 7, 2025, due to the Prisoner Review Board determining he violated the terms of his release,' a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections said to The Straits Times. No further details were given at the time of writing. Yee is currently held at Danville Correctional Centre, a medium-security adult prison in Illinois. In October 2020, he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment at Illinois River Correctional Centre after pleading guilty to grooming a 14-year-old girl and possessing child sexual abuse material. He was granted early parole in 2023 but was returned to custody a month later. Yee moved to the US in late 2016, shortly before he was due to enlist for national service in Singapore. He was granted political asylum the following year, after claiming he was being persecuted for his views. Prior to leaving Singapore, he had been jailed twice for separate incidents related to content he posted online. He remains listed on the US sex offender registry.
New Paper
21-05-2025
- New Paper
Amos Yee violated terms of release from US jail; parole delayed till Nov
Convicted child sex offender Amos Yee will remain in a US jail for another six months, with the possibility of being monitored by the US authorities for life. A search on the Illinois Department of Corrections website showed that the 26-year-old's projected parole date is set for Nov 7, exactly two years after his rearrest. The Singaporean's projected discharge date, meanwhile, is now set at three years to life, with the length to be determined. He was originally set to be released on April 24. Under Illinois state law, an individual's projected discharge date indicates when the person will be let off parole, which is also known as mandatory supervised release. "Amos Yee is not eligible to resume mandatory supervised release until Nov 7, 2025, due to the Prisoner Review Board determining he violated the terms of his release," a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections said, without providing additional information. Yee fled to the US in December 2016, a day before he was supposed to report for a medical examination ahead of his national service enlistment in Singapore. He was granted political asylum in the US in 2017 after citing persecution for his political opinions. The former teenage blogger was jailed twice in Singapore over separate incidents. While in the US, he again ran afoul of the law. In February 2019, he repeatedly asked a 14-year-old girl living in Texas to send him nude photos of herself, which he reciprocated with nude photos of his own. In message exchanges that numbered in the thousands, he engaged in role-play and sexual fantasies with the girl, even though she mentioned her age multiple times in WhatsApp correspondence with Yee. He was arrested in October 2020 and sentenced to six years' jail at Illinois River Correctional Centre, a medium-security state prison, over grooming a teenage girl and possessing child pornography. He was initially released on parole on Oct 7, 2023, three years ahead of his original release date in 2026. However, just a month later, he was sent back to prison for undisclosed reasons. Currently, he is housed in Danville Correctional Centre, a medium-security adult male prison located about a 2h 40min drive away from Chicago. He has been listed on the sex offender registry in the US because of his offences, and his name, crime and home address are available to the public online.
Online Citizen
20-05-2025
- Online Citizen
Amos Yee to remain in US prison until November, faces lifetime monitoring for parole breach
UNITED STATES: Amos Yee, a former Singaporean YouTuber convicted of sex offences in the United States, will remain behind bars until 7 November 2025 after breaching parole conditions. The Illinois Department of Corrections listed the 26-year-old's new projected parole date as two years after his re-arrest in November 2023. His projected discharge date now ranges from three years to life, meaning he may remain under US authorities' supervision indefinitely. Originally, Yee was expected to be released on 24 April 2025. However, due to a ruling by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, he was deemed to have violated parole conditions and is no longer eligible for mandatory supervised release until November. A spokesperson from the Illinois Department of Corrections confirmed the parole breach but did not provide further details, as reported by Singapore state media The Straits Times. Yee is currently held at Danville Correctional Centre, a medium-security male prison located approximately two hours and forty minutes from Chicago. He was initially released on parole on 7 October 2023, three years before the end of his original six-year sentence. Amos Yee sentenced in 2021 following his guilty plea to charges of grooming and possessing child pornography His early release followed a guilty plea in December 2021 to charges of grooming a minor and possessing child pornography. Sixteen additional charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement. The court retroactively applied his sentence to his October 2020 arrest. US marshals arrested Yee at his residence in Chicago's Norwood Park East in 2020 after it was discovered that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl via WhatsApp. Despite the victim repeatedly stating her age, Yee persisted in soliciting nude photos and reciprocated with explicit images. He also distributed the images online. The crimes occurred between February and July 2019, and Yee's communications with the girl spanned thousands of messages. Yee fled to the US in December 2016, the day before he was scheduled to report for his national service medical examination in Singapore. He was granted political asylum in March 2017 by a Chicago immigration judge, who ruled he had been persecuted in Singapore for his political views. The US Department of Homeland Security's appeal against the ruling was dismissed in September 2017. Prior to his relocation, Yee was jailed twice in Singapore. In 2015, at age 16, he was arrested after posting a video criticising the late Lee Kuan Yew shortly after the former prime minister's death. The video and an obscene image led to his conviction for wounding religious feelings and obscenity. He was released in May 2015, having served more time in custody than the sentence required. In 2017, Yee was jailed again after pleading guilty to six charges of wounding religious feelings of Christians and Muslims in his blog and video posts. His re-incarceration in the US is believed to be linked to new online activity while on parole, which violated conditions barring internet use by sex offenders. According to the US Courts' guidelines, individuals on sex offender parole are prohibited from internet access. Yee allegedly breached this by posting on his blog. In a controversial post titled 'Amos Yee's Update after 3 Years in American Prison', Yee denied manipulating his victim and expressed continued support for paedophilia. He wrote that if he again formed a relationship with a minor he was attracted to, he would 'break the law again'. Yee also discussed returning to Singapore, acknowledging the possibility of losing his asylum status, facing charges for evading national service, and risking further prosecution for criticising the government. Despite these threats, he said he remained committed to political activism and believed he could still contribute to society. In another blog entry dated 5 November 2023, Yee outlined provocative goals, including creating a popular platform to defend paedophilia and promoting illegal protests in Singapore. These posts, deemed a breach of parole conditions, likely prompted US authorities to revoke his early release. Yee remains listed on the US sex offender registry, with his offence details and residential information publicly accessible.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
S'porean Amos Yee violated terms of release from US jail, parole delayed till November
SINGAPORE - Convicted child sex offender Amos Yee will remain in a US jail for another six months, with the possibility of being monitored by the US authorities for life. A search on the Illinois Department of Corrections website showed that the 26-year-old's projected parole date is set for Nov 7, exactly two years after his re-arrest. The Singaporean's projected discharge date, meanwhile, is now set at three years to life, with the length to be determined. He was originally set to be released on April 24. Under Illinois state law, an individual's projected discharge date indicates when they will be let off parole, which is also known as mandatory supervised release. 'Amos Yee is not eligible to resume mandatory supervised release until Nov 7, 2025, due to the Prisoner Review Board determining he violated the terms of his release,' a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections said, without providing additional information. Yee fled to the US in December 2016, a day before he was supposed to report for a medical examination ahead of his enlistment into national service. He was granted political asylum in the US in 2017 after citing persecution for his political opinions. The former teenage blogger was jailed twice in Singapore over separate incidents. While in the US, he again ran afoul of the law. In February 2019, he repeatedly asked a 14-year-old girl living in Texas to send him nude photos of herself, which he reciprocated with nude photos of his own. In message exchanges that numbered in the thousands, he engaged in role-play and sexual fantasies with the girl, even though she mentioned her age multiple times in WhatsApp correspondences with Yee. He was arrested in October 2020 and sentenced to six years' jail at Illinois River Correctional Centre, a medium-security state prison, over grooming a teenage girl and possessing child pornography. The Singaporean was initially released on parole on Oct 7, 2023, three years ahead of his original release date in 2026. However, just a month later, he was sent back to prison for undisclosed reasons. Currently, he is housed in Danville Correctional Centre, a medium-security adult male prison located about a 2h 40min drive away from Chicago. He has been listed on the sex offender registry in the US because of his offences, and his name, crime and home address are available to the public online. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
