Austin Pace, 25, was arraigned on May 30 after a lengthy investigation
From the Yates County Sheriff,
In April of this year, the Yates County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Austin G. Pace, 25, of Cullman, Alabama. With assistance from the New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Cullman County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama, the investigation was concluded with a direct presentation to a Yates County Grand Jury on May 9, 2024, by District Attorney Todd Casella and First ADA Alicia Slate.
On May 15, 2024, Cullman County Sheriff’s Office Investigators assisted the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HBI) executed a search warrant of Pace’s residence after receiving cyber tips linking him to child pornography stemming from the Yates County investigation. Alabama Law Enforcement Agencies confiscated several electronic devices that will be processed. Contemporaneous with the execution of the search warrant Pace was arrested on a Superior Court Warrant out of Yates County and extradited by the Yates County Sheriff’s Office on May 29, 2024.
Pace was arraigned on Thursday, May 30, 2024, on a 19-count indictment; among the charges are Sex Trafficking of a Child, five counts of Promoting Prostitution of a Person under 15, Compelling Prostitution of a Person Less Than 18, Coercion, Use of a Child Under 17 In A Sexual Performance, Promoting Sex Performance By Child Under 17 and Obscenity in the First Degree.
The Hon. Mackenzie Stutzman set bail at $50,000 cash, $100,000 bond, and $150,000 partially secured bond. Pace is due back in Court on June 11, 2024. If convicted, Pace faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, and up to 20 years of supervised release. He is also facing the possibility of consecutive sentencing for the changes.
Pace is alleged to have utilized social media and online chat applications to communicate with a minor child and enter into an online sexual relationship. He is alleged to have used force or intimidation, to command her to engage in sexual activity and the creation of child pornography for his own sexual gratification daily.
Pace is alleged to have utilized more than a dozen social applications to exploit the minor including but not limited to Snapchat, Discord, Among Friends, and Instagram. During the investigation, multiple electronic devices were seized along with the contents of the social media accounts that contained videos and images.
Parents should be aware of the potential abuse and exploitation of their children through social media applications, chat rooms, online games, dating applications and should communicate with their children about the dangers. Monitoring minor’s online activity is highly encouraged. Resources can be found at https://www.zeroabuseproject.org/…/keep…/online-safety/https://ocfs.ny.gov/…/online-safety/resources-parents.phphttps://www.nsvrc.org/saam/2022/learn/keepingkidssafeonline
If there is any suspicion of abuse or exploitation, please contact law enforcement immediately. To Report Abuse or Neglect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anonymously, call the New York State Central Registry Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800- 342-3720. Mandated Reporters: 1- 800-6351522. Deaf/Hard of Hearing: 1-800-638-5163. If you believe that a child is in immediate danger, call 911. You can also contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST. To report online child sexual exploitation, use the electronic Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678.
