Lynchburg Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charge

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA – A Colonel with the Virginia National Guard pled guilty this week in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Lynchburg to a federal child pornography charge.

Gary Williamson, 54, of Lynchburg, Va., waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty this week to a one-count Information charging him with knowingly receiving and distributing child pornography.

“Those who trade in this illicit material will continue to be held accountable,” Acting United States Attorney Anthony P. Giorno said today. “Protecting our children is Priority one for my office. Children are often the most vulnerable among us and we won’t hesitate to prosecute those whose actions are aimed at exploiting them.”

According to evidence presented at this week’s guilty plea hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Bubar, the Roanoke office of Homeland Security Investigations became aware of Williamson’s distribution of child pornography on October 14, 2014, through information gathered through an unrelated investigation of a website located outside the United States.  In December 2014, Williamson was interviewed at his home and a search warrant was executed for various computers and media storage devices. During this search, Williamson admitted to controlling an email account and a username for the subject website that have been used to trade suspected child pornography.  Subsequent forensic analysis of the defendant’s computer and other media storage devices showed he possessed more than 2,000 images of child pornography, many of which he distributed via the subject website bulletin boards and email.   

At sentencing, Williamson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum possible penalty of up to twenty years in prison.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations, Roanoke Office and the Virginia Attorney General’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Bubar is prosecuting the case for the United States.