Todd Stewart Williams, Child Pornography Ring Operation, Virginia 2024

ABINGDON, Va. – A pillar of the Smyth County community, and a man entrusted with the welfare of local children, has been revealed as a monster. Todd Stewart Williams, 54, of Chilhowie, Virginia, the former Vice Chairman of the Smyth County School Board, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for running a depraved scheme involving the production of child pornography. The sentencing marks the culmination of a disturbing investigation that exposed Williams’s calculated exploitation of at least six minor, male victims.

Williams pled guilty in April 2025 to four counts of persuading, inducing, enticing, and coercing – and attempting to do so – one or more minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating visual depictions for interstate commerce. The court didn’t stop at imprisonment, tacking on 10 years of supervised release and ordering Williams to pay over $20,000 in assessments. The sheer scale of the abuse, detailed in court documents, is sickening.

The investigation began in September 2022, when a 15-year-old boy in Oklahoma contacted the FBI. He reported that Williams, operating under the Snapchat username “todd_w3411,” had offered him money for explicit images. The trail quickly widened. Investigators discovered Williams had funneled over $2,100 to the boy in under six months, accompanied by a barrage of sexual messages. The FBI eventually identified at least 11 victims, with indications of even more still unidentified. Williams attempted to cover his tracks using disappearing message apps like Snapchat, Signal, and Telegram.

But the digital breadcrumbs didn’t end there. From 2022 to 2024, Williams paid one teenager to film the sexual abuse of his 8-10 year old stepbrother. The teen, directed by Williams, would target his younger sibling in the bedroom at night, forcing him to watch pornography and participate in sexual acts. Williams laundered over $3,600 through thirty-nine payments, ranging from $50 to $200, even sending a debit card hidden in a new shoebox and instructing the teen to lie about its origin. Williams spent over $10,000 acquiring nude images from at least six other underage male victims.

The depravity extended beyond online predation. Williams, also involved with a local school basketball team, leveraged his position to gain access to the youth locker room, surreptitiously recording boys in various states of undress. He even planted a hidden camera to film a young boy using the bathroom during an overnight basketball trip. This wasn’t a momentary lapse in judgment; it was a pattern of predatory behavior, fueled by a gross abuse of power and a complete disregard for the well-being of the children he was supposed to protect.

“Children are spending more time online than ever before, which makes them susceptible to individuals looking to do them harm,” stated United States Attorney C. Todd Gilbert. “It is our job in the law enforcement community to protect our kids and prosecute those who prey upon the innocent.” Stephen Farina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division, echoed that sentiment: “Todd Williams… committed indefensible acts. FBI Richmond will continue working…to ensure the safety of our children.” This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort to combat the escalating epidemic of child sexual exploitation. The FBI investigated, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Whit Pierce prosecuted the case. Williams will now spend three decades behind bars, but the scars he inflicted on his victims will last a lifetime.

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