Perkinston Man Pleads Guilty to Accessing Child Porn with Intent to View

Gulfport, Miss – William Joshua Woodward, age 39, of Perkinston, Mississippi, pled guilty in U.S. District Court on Thursday, April 21, 2016, to one count of access with intent to view child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis.

This case began when the Gulf Coast Cyber Crimes Task Force, while monitoring the internet for individuals who download child pornography via Peer-to-Peer file sharing networks, located an IP address showing multiple downloads of child pornography. An investigation followed, which determined that Woodward, from July 2015 to February 2016, knowingly accessed the Internet through his computer using a Peer-to-Peer file sharing program which accessed visual depictions involving the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Further forensic examination of Woodward’s computer revealed hundreds of downloaded images of child pornography.

William Joshua Woodward will be sentenced on July 7, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., by Chief U. S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This case was investigated by agents with the Gulf Coast Cyber Crimes Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations and the Wiggins Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones.