Norwich Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Engage in Sex with Minor

Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that, WILLIAM MEIER, 39, of Norwich, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for attempting to engage in sexual activity with a minor.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2020, Meier accessed a chatroom dedicated to teens on the Kik social messaging application and began chatting with an FBI online covert employee (“OCE”) who was posing as a 14-year-old girl living in Connecticut.  Meier raised the prospect of meeting the “girl” in order to engage in sexual intercourse with her and impregnate her.  On August 5, 2020, Meier sent the OCE a sexually explicit photo of himself.  Meier was arrested the following day after he traveled from his home to a location in New London where he expected to meet the “girl” and engage in sexual activity with her.

Meier has been detained since his arrest on August 6, 2020.  On July 27, 2021, he pleaded guilty to using an interstate facility to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New London Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Doherty.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.