Former CEO of Christian nonprofit pleads guilty to possessing child pornography

[Jilly_in_VA]

The former CEO of My Faith Votes, a nonprofit that encourages "Christians in America to vote in every election," has pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse images, months after his arrest.

Jason Christopher Yates, 56, pleaded guilty to two of eight felony counts of possession of child pornography on Tuesday, July 22, in a district court in McLeod County, Minnesota, according to a plea petition obtained by USA TODAY.

Yates was initially charged and arrested in October 2024, according to Minnesota state court records. My Faith Votes told Religion News Service that Yates served as its CEO until August 2024.

“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," the statement reads. "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.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/07/26/jason-yates-former-my-faith-votes-ceo-pleads-guilty/85387519007/?tbref=hp

Not a drag queen. Not a trans individual. Just your ordinary Talibangelical.

[Gimpyknee]

1. I'm shocked!

[58Sunliner]

2. This wasn't the first time.

"was charged yesterday with eight felony counts of possession of child sex abuse material. And according to a probable cause statement filed in the case, the former CEO, Jason Yates, has a prior conviction for a similar charge, which was expunged." WTF.
https://julieroys.com/es/former-ceo-my-faith-votes-charged-possession-child-sex-abuse-material/

[mwmisses4289]

3. And these so called christians wonder why they are

losing church members and why the rest of us want to have little, if anything, to do with them. This is like the fourth or fifth story just this week of one or another of these idjits doing something involving children.

[Collimator]

4. Reading the title of this thread. . .

Makes me almost weary with disgust. But it also forces me to think.

As someone who underwent her own "de-conversion" experience, I know that I can be very, very critical of Christianity and religion in general. However, I also want to be fair. Many people are drawn to Christianity because of its tenets of communal concern, a call to see life as more than a bodily experience and its theme of redemption.

There is certainly nothing wrong, (or unique to Christianity) about the concept of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I can also get onboard with, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

However, many people are drawn to Christianity in its institutional form because it provides the sort of structure that allows for authoritarianism. It's about power as expressed in the control of others. And one of the best ways to control others is by creeping into their minds and suppressing their most basic impulses, including interest in sex.

As has been observed over and over again, suppression of sexual feelings and expression leads to maladaptive deviance. So-called "permissiveness" doesn't mess people up sexually; sexual repression does. If Christian parents (and others) just started by telling little boys, "Yes, I know it feels good to touch your penis", (and just call it that for godsake), "But that's something that you only do in private."* And then followed through by actually giving their kids privacy and providing accurate information at appropriate ages, then there would be far fewer sexually based crimes committed in the world.

* And yes, I know little girls require guidance as well when it comes to public behavior vis a vis their genitals. Obviously, since male genitals are external, a boy child's interaction with those body parts are likely to be more common and more obvious.