Singaporean Amos Yee in ICE detention facility barely a week after being released on parole in US

SINGAPORE – Singaporean child sex offender Amos Yee is currently in the custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with the 27-year-old likely to face deportation.

A check on the agency’s website on Nov 24 indicated that he is being detained at the Dodge Detention Facility in Wisconsin, located a four-hour drive away from the state of Illinois, where he was serving a six-year jail term for child pornography and sexual grooming before being released on parole on Nov 20.

It is unclear when he was taken into ICE’s custody.

According to ICE’s website, detaining an individual is meant to “secure their presence for immigration proceedings or removal from the United States,” among other immigration-related considerations.

A check on the US Executive Office for Immigration Review’s automated case information site also did not indicate when Yee’s case will be heard before an immigration court.

Yee will face charges in Singapore if he returns.

The Ministry of Defence told The Straits Times that he will be charged under the Enlistment Act, as he failed to report for pre-enlistment medical screening and remained outside the country without a valid exit permit.

Flouting enlistment rules can result in offenders being fined up to $10,000, jailed up to three years, or both.

He had entered the US in December 2016 to seek asylum after repeated run-ins with the law in Singapore over controversial comments that were derogatory to Christians and Muslims.

Yee was granted asylum in March 2017, despite opposition from the US Department of Homeland Security, and was finally released from detention in September that year.

However, he found himself in trouble again after he was indicted by a grand jury at an Illinois court in 2020 for solicitation and possession of child pornography.

He had exchanged nude photos and messages with a 14-year-old girl from Texas while he was in Chicago, and was sentenced on Dec 2, 2021.

Barely halfway into his six-year jail term, he was released on parole on Oct 7, 2023, but re-arrested the following month.

While the reason behind his re-incarceration is unknown, it is believed that he had broken the terms of his parole, which included restrictions such as not being allowed to use the internet without approval from the state corrections department, and not being permitted to be near a place where children would be, unless the department allowed it.

ST has reached out to ICE for more information.

Amos YeeUnited StatesCrimeSex offencesCrimes against children/minors