Craig E. Williams, Child Pornography Possession, Missouri 2014

Kansas City, MO man pleads guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography

Kansas City, Mo. - Craig E. Williams, 27, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to possessing and attempting to distribute child pornography over the Internet.

According to today's plea agreement, Williams was arrested by Kansas City, Mo. police officers at his residence on May 16, 2013, on a felony warrant for an unrelated state case. Forensic investigators discovered 413 videos of child pornography and numerous images of child pornography on a computer and three hard drives.

The victims were primarily prepubescent children, including some toddlers. Some of the images depicted bondage and bestiality.

Williams told officers that he used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download child pornography over the Internet.

Williams was also being investigated by the Nixa, Mo., Police Department and the Western Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force, which were conducting separate undercover child pornography investigations and had identified Williams' computer as sharing child pornography over the Internet.

Under federal statutes, Williams is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000.

Williams must also pay restitution of $5,000 apiece to two of the victims, or $3,000 apiece if he pays within 30 days of the sentencing date.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the FBI, the Nixa, Mo., Police Department and the Western Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force.

Project Safe Childhood This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/project-safe-childhood-123