Scottsdale police arrest unhoused husband and wife on child sexual exploitation charges

PHOENIX — Scottsdale police arrested an unhoused husband and wife on Tuesday on child sexual exploitation charges after receiving a tip from a national task force dedicated to rescuing children, according to court documents.

Carmen Louise Aspling, 46, and Joshua Adam Yates, 33, were booked into jail on Wednesday.

Aspling faces two counts of child sexual exploitation. Yates — a registered sex offender with a prior conviction for child sexual exploitation — was arrested on two counts of child sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of failing to register or confirm his identity as a sex offender and one count related to an online identifier.

Why were husband and wife accused of child sexual exploitation?

Investigators say Aspling uploaded media of an infant girl being violently sexually abused to the messaging app Kik between Dec. 31, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026.

Court documents describe a conversation between Aspling and Yates in which he texted, “Love u honey.” After sending two videos, Aspling allegedly replied, “Love u more honey,” and “Happy New Year my love.”

Arrest documents did not indicate the source of the media.

Court records note that Yates was previously convicted in Maricopa County for sexual exploitation of a minor in a 2019 Phoenix police investigation. In that case, he used Google and Kik to access and possess media depicting children being sexually abused. He was sentenced, served time and was released on July 30, 2023. He last registered as a sex offender on Aug. 8, 2025.

Police also confirmed with adult probation that Yates had claimed he did not have a cellphone after his probation-issued phone was confiscated due to “inappropriate pictures.” Investigators said that seized phone is unrelated to the current case.

National center alerted Scottsdale police of abuse of infant girl

Authorities were alerted after Kik reported that one of its users uploaded four videos of an infant being violently sexually abused, according to court documents.

Kik forwarded the report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives tips about child abuse, child sexual exploitation material and missing children. NCMEC reviewed the report, confirmed the content and routed the case to Scottsdale police.

Court documents list Aspling as “mentally disturbed,” though that designation was not checked on Yates’ paperwork.

Prior to incarceration, the couple lived in a tent within a homeless shelter near Jefferson Street and 15th Avenue, according to court records.

Aspling’s bond was set at $50,000. Yates’ bond was set at $75,350.

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