William Gene Koch Sentenced for Child Pornography

RALEIGH, N.C. — A dark chapter in the annals of sex crimes has closed with Wilmington’s William Gene Koch, 45, being sentenced to 100 months in federal prison for his sordid involvement in child pornography. The pervert also faces a five-year term of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

Koch’s online alias was ‘NC Pig,’ which he used within an online conferencing app (‘Application A’) to share and receive explicit material with other predators. An undercover Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent infiltrated the chat room, leading authorities straight to Koch’s doorstep in Wilmington. The feds obtained a warrant, executing it on August 9, 2018, where they discovered an electronic treasure trove of over 14,000 images and videos depicting child exploitation.

According to court documents, Koch admitted during his non-custodial interview that he had used Application A for this despicable purpose. His devices revealed the majority of the content depicted children under the age of 12, including infants involved in sadistic acts or violence. The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Stephany, with the aid of HSI, Wilmington Police Department, and the United States Secret Service.

The sentence comes under the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national effort to crack down on child exploitation crimes. This case underscores the commitment of law enforcement to protect our youth from such predators. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Press releases and related court documents are available on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina’s website or PACER, using Case No. 7:19-CR-00143-BO.