COLUMBIA, SC—A 56-year-old retired fireman was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court for molesting children and possessing child porn, officials announced
A search of the house of defendant, Webster Douglas Williams, III, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in November 2011 turned up more than a million images of child pornography in the form of pictures and videos on computers and elsewhere.
Also hidden cameras, computers, and other material used by Williams in producing and collecting the child pornography were found and seized.
Williams was convicted of sexual exploitationof a minor, a violation, traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and possession of child pornography.
The retired firefighter worked at the Myrtle Beach Fire Department, the evidence indicated.
U.S. District Judge R. Bryan Harwell also required Williams to register as a sex offender and ordered him to pay restitution of $487,350.00 to his victims.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Williams was employed by the Myrtle Beach Fire Department before he retired.
Williams produced child pornography for six years by filming his activities with the children he was molesting. He also took children to Florida in 2009 and engaged in sexual activities with one of the children.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Safe Childhood is led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in concert with marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims, according to authorities.
For more information, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.