Miami, Florida – A South Florida federal jury delivered a guilty verdict against 31-year-old Miami resident William Gross Jr. after a three-day trial. Gross was found guilty of distributing child pornography.
Gross spent a year engaging in a disturbing online activity, chatting and sharing videos and images of children being sexually abused through a social media messenger application. The chats revealed Gross’s explicit and disturbing behavior, including boasting about his sexual exploits with young girls, asking for explicit videos of young girls having sex, and sending a picture of his penis to ask if a young girl could “handle” it.
The seven-count indictment against Gross included charges of distributing child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. Sentencing is set for April 27 at 2:30 p.m. before U.S. Senior District Judge Paul C. Huck.
The investigation into Gross was led by the FBI Miami, specifically the Child Exploitation Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Egozi and Abbie D. Waxman prosecuted the case.
The 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. 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.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood and internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-20532.
Related Federal Cases
- William Patrick King, Attempted Child Pornography Production, Florida · Florida
- Joshua Black, Production and Transportation of Child Pornography, Florida 2023 · Arkansas
- Jonathan William Lauman, Child Pornography Possession, FL 2023 · Florida
- Richard Daniel Lord, Receiving Child Pornography, Florida 2023 · Texas
- Matthew Allen Hayes, Child Pornography Advertising, Florida 2024 · Arkansas
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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