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Press Release

Memphis Man Guilty of Child Exploitation

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Tennessee

Memphis, TN – A federal jury has found a Memphis man guilty on two counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee announced the verdicts today.

According to information presented in court, from February through October 2016, Marcus Williams, 28, used the chat application Kik, as well as several email accounts, to distribute images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. When members of the Memphis Child Exploitation Task Force searched Williams’ Memphis residence, they seized three smart phones and one laptop, all containing child pornography. The laptop alone contained more than 3,000 videos that depicted sexual assault of children, many of whom were prepubescent.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "With new and ever-changing technology, criminals are using more creative and disturbing ways to commit cyber-crimes against vulnerable victims, including the sexual exploitation of children by distribution of child pornography. This office will always aggressively prosecute and seek significant and mandatory sentences for such predatory behavior in order to protect children and hold offenders accountable."

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visits http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.

Sentencing is set for July 25, 2018 at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. Senior District Judge Samuel H. Mays. Williams faces a maximum sentence of up to 60 years imprisonment.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Deb Ireland is prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf.

Updated April 5, 2018