JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A former St. Augustine will spend the next decade and a half in federal prison for attempting to entice and use a 14-year-old child to produce a sexual abuse video. A judge also ordered 31-year-old Matthew Christopher Yates to serve 10 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender.

Court documents say that in 2022, an undercover FBI agent posing as a 14-year-old child responded to a social media post by Yates under the username “English teacher,” saying, “Any women want to be rated by a teacher?” During a text conversation, the undercover agent told Yates that they’re a 14-year-old girl. and Yates said he was a teacher. The documents add that Yates asked the undercover agent if she “[e]ver fantasized about a teacher?” and stated, “I bet you look hot in a bikini.”

According to documents, between February and March of 2022, Yates and the undercover agent exchanged more text messages, with Yates sending several photos, some of which were sexually explicit. On March 8, 2022, Yates asked the “child” to meet in person and listed some of the sexual acts he intended to perform. Two days later, Yates asked if the “child” if she wanted to record the sexual acts with Yates suggesting he use his cellphone.

The documents say on March 11, 2022, Yates drove to a Jacksonville location intending to meet the “child” but was arrested by FBI agents. A search revealed that he brought several condoms and a cellphone with him.

Yates pleaded guilty to the charges in August 2025. He was a teacher at Veritas Classical School at the time of his arrest.

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