Repeat Child Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Porn

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A convicted child sex offender pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Greg N. Stivers, to possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman.

Lawrence William Taylor, 68, was indicted on one count of possession of child pornography on July 25, 2018.      

According to the plea agreement, Taylor in 2004 pleaded guilty to online enticement of a minor in Georgia, and was sentenced to 168 months of imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release. Upon his release from prison in 2016, Taylor moved to Big Clifty, Kentucky. During an unannounced visit to his home on January 11, 2018, Taylor was found to have a female and an 11-year-old child living with him – a violation of his supervised release. During a follow-up meeting, a United States Probation Officer obtained consent for a search of Taylor's cell phone. The United States Secret Service conducted a forensic examination of the cell phone. That examination revealed the presence of child pornography, adult pornography, and sexually explicit images of children in cartoon format. Taylor obtained the images from the internet.

Taylor faces a minimum 10 year term of imprisonment, a maximum 20 years of imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life.

Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless is prosecuting the case. The United States Probation Office with assistance from the United States Secret Service investigated the case.

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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.