On Monday, August 12, 2024, 36-year-old Clinton Scott Yale pled guilty to two counts of Possession of Child Pornography. For each count, he received a prison term of 50 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He also pled guilty to Possession of Lewd Visual Material in which he received an additional two year sentence in State Jail, which was the maximum sentence. These offenses occurred on October 29, 2023. If released from prison, he must register as a Sex Offender for the rest of his life.
A person involved in a relationship with Yale discovered hidden files on his phone phone and contacted authorities. Law Enforcement was then able to recover multiple videos and photographs of child victims from Yale's phone. The children depicted were as young as five years of age. There was no evidence to support if these children were from the area except for the two children he secretly recorded and stored in the Possession of Lewd Visual Material case.
The Upshur County Sherriff's Office investigation the case.
The State was represented by its Elected Criminal District Attorney Billy W. Byrd and the presiding Judge was the Honorable Dean Fowler.
