Oak Hill man sentenced to more than a year in Federal child pornography charges

CHARLESTON, W. Va. -  United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced that William A. Cracraft, 52, of Oak Hill, West Virginia was sentenced to twelve months and one day in federal prison for Possession of Child Pornography.  Cracraft’s incarceration will be followed by 25 years of supervised release, and he will be required to register as a sex offender.  As part of his plea agreement, Cracraft agreed to forfeit his computers and cell phones that contained child pornography for destruction.  He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $18,500 to victims of his crime.

The investigation established that Cracraft was in possession of more than 600 photographs and videos of child pornography on his computers and cell phones, including sexually explicit depictions of prepubescent minors.  Some of the images showed sadistic or masochistic conduct, while others depicted violence toward the minor children.

The Department of Homeland Security and the West Virginia State Police conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes was responsible for the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 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 http://www.justice.gov/usao/wvs/PSCpage.html.

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