Last Wednesday, Thank You Jesus Yard Sign founder Lucas Timothy Hunt pleaded guilty to a felony charge of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor in Randolph County, N.C.
Hunt agreed to enter a plea deal and is sentenced to 36 months of supervised probation. He is now required to register as a sex offender and provide a sample of his DNA to law enforcement.
Hunt was arrested in February 2025 on charges of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor after a brief investigation by the Invictus Task Force uncovered a pornographic video of two children in his possession after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
In the state of North Carolina, the difference between third-degree and second-degree sexual exploitation of minors is one of possession versus creation and solicitation.
Third-degree charges imply the accused simply possessed material containing “a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity.” Those convicted of third-degree child exploitation charges are often able to avoid jailtime by agreeing to probation.
Second-degree child exploitation charges punish those who produce and/or distribute child sexual abuse materials, often with jail time. Both classes of offenders must register as sex offenders for a 30-year period, and the charges cannot be expunged from their criminal record.
In both cases, North Carolina definitions of child sex crimes are broad. The accused cannot argue, for instance, they were unaware the victim was a minor. Juries are to assume all people depicted as children in sexually explicit media are or could be minors, even if their age was misrepresented or ambiguous.
Since his 2025 arrest, the Thank You Jesus Yard Signs brand has removed Hunt’s name and photo from the website and tells the nonprofit’s origin story in vague terms, highlighting instead its board members, especially board president Connie Frazier.
Frazier designed the signs back in 2016 after meeting Hunt, then a teenager with a business idea. According to the site, teenage Hunt “prayed for help to display Easter signs in his hometown of Asheboro, N.C.” and “that these efforts would have a giant impact on the kingdom.” Fraizer says “God spoke very clearly … instructing her to design a Thank You Jesus yard sign that would be distributed nationwide.”
In response to the allegations against Hunt, North Carolinians who often see the signs scattered across yards, along highways or in front of businesses took to social media to share their distaste for the evangelical brand.
Now that he has been convicted, they continue to express this disdain.
“Thank u Jesus … that he got caught!” read one comment on a Facebook post made by NC News anchor Julie Luck related to the charges. Another read, “I know Jesus is not happy about that.”
Many were disappointed yet unsurprised at the guilty plea due to his affiliation with evangelical Christianity, with many commenters echoing that Hunt is “the usual suspect” and a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Others made political remarks referencing the recent rise in Christian nationalism, which seemingly funnels power to pedophiles while using left-wing tropes as scapegoats. Several commenters sarcastically remarked, “Still not a drag queen” and one person joked, “He’s up for a position in the current administration, most likely.”
In response to the plea deal, Hunt’s attorney, Trevor Guyton, said the outcome was a product of a “hard-line” policy in North Carolina law that he says doesn’t account for all the facts.
Guyton told the local Fox station: “As you heard in the sentencing hearing, the plea offer in this case is a product of just a hard-line, no exceptions policy. … This is what they do in all these cases. The facts, almost regardless, and I just think that is a very unfortunate and shameful policy.”
Thank You Jesus Yard Signs has not publicly commented on the plea deal.
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Founder of ‘Thank You Jesus’ yard signs arrested for child sexual exploitation