CITIZEN STAFF REPORT
PIKEVILLE — A Martin County man was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in prison for multiple counts related to producing and distributing child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Robert Wier sentenced Donald York, 60, of Beauty, in U.S. District Court in Pikeville.
A jury found York guilty in April 2023 on four counts of producing child pornography and two counts of its distribution. The verdict followed a three-day trial.
The evidence at York’s trial revealed that he manipulated a 15-year-old female under his guardianship, forcing her to engage in sexually explicit acts. He then produced images of these actions and proceeded to upload some of the images to a pornographic website.
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.
The crimes occurred from September 2019 to April 2020.
York is still facing state criminal charges.
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 accused 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 must serve a minimum of 85% of his sentence. Once released, he will be perpetually under the monitoring of the U.S. Probation Office.
Carlton S. Shier IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Brian Jones, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Louisville Field Office; Col. Phillip Burnett, Commissioner, Kentucky State Police; and Sheriff John Kirk, Martin County Sherriff’s Office, jointly announced the sentence.
The FBI, Kentucky State Police and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.