Philip Taylor Sobash, a 35-year-old resident of Austin, Texas, has pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and admitted to exploiting six additional minors. The plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee.
“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.”
Court documents show that between October 2018 and May 2019, Sobash, who was then working as a physician, engaged in an online sexually explicit relationship with a 17-year-old minor living in the Middle District of Tennessee. The two met through a dating website that caters to “sugar daddy” relationships. After moving their communication to text messages, the minor informed Sobash of her age and sent him proof by sharing a photo of her driver’s license.
Sobash requested sexually explicit images from the minor and provided her with thousands of dollars in cash and gifts as inducement. Over more than seven months, she sent him hundreds of sexually explicit photos and videos that were classified as child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
In addition to this case, Sobash admitted to exploiting six other minors aged 16 to 17 between 2017 and 2020. He directed these victims to create CSAM and send it to him. He also distributed material depicting five of these victims, resulting in their images being sold online under their names.
Sobash faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years if convicted, along with a possible fine up to $250,000. He may also be subject to forfeiture of property linked to the offenses.
The FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit is leading the investigation into this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica R. Morrison and Trial Attorney Adam Braskich from the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at fighting child sexual exploitation by coordinating federal, state, and local resources for investigating offenders using the Internet and rescuing victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
