MISSOURI MAN RECEIVES 30 YEAR SENTENCE FOR ATTEMPTED ENTICEMENT OF A CHILD

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – William E. Jackson, 47, of Pevely, Missouri, was sentenced to 360 months in 
prison on Thursday, March 24, 2022, for traveling from Missouri to Illinois to engage in sex with a 
minor.
According to court documents, in April 2020, an FBI agent, acting in an undercover capacity, 
located and responded to an online ad posted by William E. Jackson indicating Jackson’s interest in 
incest. When the undercover FBI agent offered to have Jackson meet a fictitious ten-year-old female 
minor for purposes of sexual contact, Jackson agreed to do so.   On May 6, 2021, Jackson traveled 
from Missouri  to  the  Southern  District  of  Illinois  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  
fictitious  ten-year-old female minor for sex.   Upon arriving at the meet location, Mr. Jackson 
was arrested by FBI agents. Following his arrest, Jackson’s cell phone was seized, which was found 
to contain child pornography.

“Significant sentences, like the one announced today, are appropriate because those who try to 
sexually abuse children deserve justice in proportion to the deviance of their behavior,” said  
United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “Our office will continue to aggressively prosecute 
these cases and do all that we can to protect children.”

“This investigation and resulting noteworthy sentence illustrate the FBI’s efforts to protect 
children from sexual predators,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. “Victims of these 
types of crimes can suffer from long-lasting trauma, so it is vital we continue our efforts to 
investigate and arrest those who prey on vulnerable children.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 
by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 
Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and 
Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, 
apprehend, and prosecute  individuals  who  sexually  exploit  children,  and  to  identify  and  
rescue  victims.  For  more information  about  Project  Safe  Childhood,  please  visit  
www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For  more  information about internet safety education, please visit 
www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Springfield Field Office. 
This case was prosecuted by Former Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Hoell and Assistant
United States Attorney Daniel Kapsak.