William Tooley, Receipt of Child Pornography, Georgia 2016

Columbus Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Receiving Child Pornography

William Tooley, a 53-year-old resident of Columbus, Georgia, was sentenced to 360 months (30 years) in prison for receiving child pornography. Tooley entered a guilty plea before the Honorable Clay D. Land of the United States District Court in Columbus, Georgia.

According to the facts presented in court, in March 2016, the mother of an 11-year-old boy discovered that her son had been texting and sending nude photos of himself to an individual she suspected of impersonating a teen boy. The victim revealed that he had been texting with someone he knew as “Mason”, who said he lived in Georgia, and was either 15 or 17 years old.

Due to the interstate nature of the case, the matter was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Mason” turned out to be 53-year-old registered sex offender and Columbus, GA, resident, William Tooley. Tooley admitted that he received sexually explicit photos from the juvenile victim via text message.

Public records revealed that Tooley had two separate convictions in the state of Michigan for 4th degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor and another for accosting a child for immoral purposes.

“The sentence recommended to and imposed by Judge Land virtually ensures that this repeat sexual offender will spend the rest of his days in the federal penitentiary, where he belongs and where he can no longer prey on innocent children. It also has spared the young victim in this case the additional trauma of having to testify about Mr. Tooley’s predations in a public courtroom,” said United States Attorney Charles E. Peeler.

Tooley will also be required to serve 25 years of supervised release under strict sexual offender supervision in the unlikely event he should ever be released from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Crawford Seals handled the prosecution for the Government.

Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.

Defendant: William Tooley

Criminal Charges: Receipt of Child Pornography

City and State: Columbus, Georgia

Exact Date: March 2016 (crime date)

Sentence or Outcome: 360 months (30 years) imprisonment, 25 years supervised release

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/columbus-man-sentenced-receiving-child-pornography