William ‘Willy’ Alexander Korthals, Child Pornography, Virginia 2022

A North Carolina man, who sent a nude photograph to an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation whom he believed to be a 9-year-old girl, pled guilty yesterday to federal child pornography charges.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – William ‘Willy’ Alexander Korthals, 30, of Beaufort, NC, waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty yesterday to a one-count Information charging him with attempted transfer of obscene matter to a minor.

‘One of the cornerstones of the mission is protecting the most vulnerable among us: our children.’ United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said today. ‘This case should serve as a warning to all predators lurking online seeking to exploit children: You are not invisible, and agents from the FBI and other federal agencies are actively hunting you in every corner of the internet in order to bring you to justice.’

According to court documents, in May 2022, Korthals was in a Kik chat room for ‘Active Parents,’ in a group titled ‘Loving Family,’ when he responded to a public group thread that read, ‘anyone want to come to Virginia to have sex with my daughter?’ Korthals reached out to the individual who posted the thread and inquired about the age of the ‘daughter’ and was told she was nine years old.

For over a year, Korthals chatted with the undercover FBI employee and requested ‘live’ photographs of the 9-year-old as well as other sexually explicit photographs and videos, and also attempted to Facetime with the undercover ‘father and daughter.’ Additionally, Korthals described specific acts of sexual abuse he wanted the ‘father’ to perform on his ‘daughter,’ including oral, vaginal, and anal sex.

At sentencing, Korthals faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Smith is prosecuting the case.

Related Federal Cases