Former SCHOOL TEACHER Pleads guily in child pornography case

GREENVILLE – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announces that in federal court today, WILLIAM EDWARDSON, JR., 56, of Jacksonville, pled guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Swank to receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252 (a) (2).

On September 2, 2015, a Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment charging EDWARDSON.  At the time, EDWARDSON was a teacher and soccer coach at Trexler Middle School in Richlands, North Carolina.

According to the investigation, law enforcement identified an IP address downloading and sharing child pornography via the peer-to-peer network, Shareaza.  As the investigation progressed, the address and user were identified as EDWARDSON.  EDWARDSON was interviewed and admitted to downloading visual depictions of minor children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. 

Investigation of this case was conducted by the NC State Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Ethan Ontjes represented the government.  This case was accepted for federal prosecution as part of Project Safe Childhood.

# # #

News releases are available on the U. S. Attorney’s webpage at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.