NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) -- A Texas man has been indicted on child sexual exploitation charges after allegedly possessing and sharing inappropriate photos of minors.
Court documents say Philip Taylor Sobash, 34, of Austin, participated in an "online sexually explicit relationship" with a minor who lived in Middle Tennessee. The online relationship, which lasted from October 2018 and May 2019, began on a dating website that promotes "sugar daddy" relations.
Sobash was a practicing physician at the time of the alleged crimes.
Once Sobash and the Midstate victim allegedly began texting, the minor informed Sobash right away of her age and sent a photo of her driver's license.
Sobash is then accused of asking the girl to create sexually explicit photos of herself in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash and gifts, the United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Tennessee reports.
The victim allegedly sent hundreds of photos and videos to Sobash, most of which accounted for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Although Sobash said the material was for his eyes only, he is accused of sharing photos online which led to unknown individuals contacting the victim and blackmailing her for more CSAM.
In 2024, a court filing revealed the FBI found the Midstate victim's CSAM was for sale on a "publicly accessible website" categorized with the victim's first and last name. Additionally, about 70 more young women and girls were exposed in this CSAM which belonged to a larger collection of sexually explicit photos and videos called the "DiscreetGent" collection.
Court documents found Sobash is "DiscreetGent" and is the sole owner of the "sexually explicit imagery" in the online collection. Court filings also found Sobash had at least four other victims exploited in this collection who were minors at the time the CSAM was made.
Sobash is accused of sending electronic payments to his victims, sometimes including sexual comments. Additionally, the investigation found Sobash's Apple iCloud account had copies of the Midstate minor's CSAM.
He was arrested Friday, Dec. 13 in the Western District of Texas, the United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Tennessee reports.
He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of coercing a minor to engage in prostitution or unlawful sexual activity and one count of receipt of child pornography.
If convicted, he faces an obligatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on the sexual exploitation of a minor count, a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison on the coercing a minor to engage in prostitution or unlawful sexual activity count, and an obligatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the receipt of child pornography count.
A federal district court judge will decide any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The FBI's Child Exploitation Operational Unit is investigating this case.
Anyone who believes they or their minor dependent was victimized by Sobash is asked to visit this FBI website and complete a short online questionnaire.