Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

NASHVILLE - Philip Taylor Sobash, 35, of Austin, Texas, has pled guilty to one charge of sexual exploitation of a minor, while also admitting to sexually exploiting six other minors.

"Protecting children from sexual predators is among the highest priorities of our office and the Department of Justice," said Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire. "Holding Sobash accountable for all of his offenses against all his victims is vitally important to the safety of children in our community and across the country."

According to court documents, between October 2018 and May 2019, Sobash, then a practicing physician, engaged in an online sexually explicit relationship with Minor Victim 1, who resided in the Middle District of Tennessee. This online relationship began after they connected on a dating website that facilitates "sugar daddy" relationships. After their communications moved to text message, Minor Victim 1 informed Sobash that she was 17 years old and sent him a photo of her driver's license, which confirmed her age.

Sobash requested that Minor Victim 1 produce and send him sexually explicit images of herself and provided her thousands of dollars in cash and gifts to entice her to do so. Over the course of more than seven months, Minor Victim 1 sent hundreds of sexually explicit photos and videos to Sobash, most of which constituted child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

In addition to sexually exploiting Minor Victim 1, Sobash admitted to sexually exploiting six other minors, aged 16-17, between 2017 and 2020. At Sobash's direction, Minor Victims 2 through 7 created CSAM and sent it to Sobash. Sobash distributed CSAM depicting Minor Victims 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6, resulting in those victims' images being sold online under their names.

Sobash faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years of imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 30 years of imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced. He also is subject to forfeiture of property as alleged in the indictment.

The FBI's Child Exploitation Operational Unit is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica R. Morrison and Trial Attorney Adam Braskich of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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