Christine Yoder Sentenced to 25 Years for Sexually Exploiting Her Daughters

On Wednesday, the United States Attorney in Philadelphia announced that 33-year-old Christine Yoder of Northeast Philadelphia has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually exploiting her daughters, who were six years old and 16 months old when she was indicted in 2014.

Yoder pleaded guilty in March of this year to two counts of employing a child to produce images of sexually explicit conduct and two counts of distributing material involving the sexual exploitation of children. She faced a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.

Yoder was caught in an undercover sting. From March through May of 2014, she sent sexually explicit photos of her 6-year-old daughter to an undercover FBI agent in Michigan, using online screen names like “sexygirl32” and “freakygirl182.” Yoder also offered to fly the 6-year-old to Detroit for sexual activity. She also sexually exploited the 16-month-old girl.

According to the indictment in the case, Yoder asked the undercover agent if he had a bed for him and her six-year-old daughter. She added that “she hoped that the [agent] would get [her] pregnant one day so that defendant Yoder could be a grandmother,” reads the indictment.

In May 2014, Yoder gave the undercover FBI agent information that he would have needed to buy an airline ticket for the girl. She also sent him stomach-turning sexually explicit messages about her. And the feds say that she told the agent, “I don’t want any contact after u take her.”

According to court documents, Yoder originally told the court that she suffered sexual abuse as a child and that she was actually taking part in the online conversation in an effort to identify predators. She has been diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In a sentencing memorandum, United States Attorney Zane David Memeger conceded that Yoder’s history is “sad” and that “it may help one understand her sexual misconduct,” he wasn’t swayed to go lightly on her. “Christine Yoder abused the most sacred bond for any human being — that of parent and child,” he wrote. “This conduct was depraved, deplorable, and will wreak a lifetime of mental and emotional havoc on her victim children.”

We couldn’t agree more.