BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PIKEVILLE — A federal jury convicted a Martin County man of six counts of producing and trafficking child pornography.
The jury deliberated less than three hours April 12, following a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Pikeville, and convicted 59-year-old Donald York of Beauty.
According to evidence presented in the trial, York coerced a minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct and videoed her, then distributed the recordings nationally and internationally over the internet.
The crimes occurred from September 2019 to April 2020.
All six counts involved trafficking child pornography. Four counts also involved York coercing the female to engage in sexually explicit conduct so York could produce pornography. According to court documents, one incident involved the girl performing oral sex on an adult male, and three other incidents involved the girl using a sex toy, soda bottle and metal water bottle in sexual performances.
During the investigation law enforcement seized a cellphone, a laptop computer and two hard drives from York’s residence. The federal court retained those items as evidence in the trial.
A Martin County grand jury initially indicted York on state criminal charges Aug. 5, 2021. That indictment charged York with first-degree rape of a minor, first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, second-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, and possession/viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor.
The Martin County indictment also accuses York of giving the juvenile Gabapentin (Neurontin) and marijuana before the sexual performances.
The state’s case against York has been on hold pending the outcome of the federal trial. However, in a recent interview, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Matt Runyon said York would stand trial in Martin County on any state charge different from the federal charges.
“You can’t charge a defendant in two different court systems on the same charges, but you can if the charges are different,” Runyon said. “According to what I see, at least three of the charges the state has are separate from those in the federal indictments.”
Since York’s federal indictment in June 2022, he has been in the custody of U.S. Marshals and incarcerated in the Pike County Detention Center.
York will appear for sentencing Aug. 24 in U.S. District Court in Pikeville. He faces 15-30 years imprisonment on four counts of conviction and 5-20 years on two counts of conviction.