In less than 30 minutes this morning , the jury in the Sean Williams child pornography trial returned with guilty verdicts.
The 53 year old Johnson City man was found guilty on all three federal counts of enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of manufacturing child pornography.
Following closing arguments and final instructions from Judge Ronnie Greer, the jury began deliberations, returning with their decision a half hour later.
Testimony Wednesday came from the mothers of three of the alledged victims in the child pornography case.
Prosecutors rested their case following those testimonies. Defense attorney Mark Brown called no witnesses before resting his case. Defendant Sean Williams, admittedly under his attorney’s advice, did not testify in his own defense.
Williams now faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years on each count.
Today, following a three-day trial in United States District Court, Greeneville, Tennessee, a federal jury convicted Sean Christopher Williams, 53, of Johnson
City, Tennessee, on three counts of Production of Child Pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a). Sentencing is set for February 24, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., before United States District Judge J. Ronnie Greer, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Williams faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison as to each count.
The evidence presented at trial showed that Williams used three minor children to engage in sexually explicit conduct and took photos of the sexually explicit conduct. The conduct occurred at Williams’ apartment in Johnson City, Tennessee. The evidence showed that Williams sexually assaulted each of the victims’ mothers while they were unconscious, around the same time that he took pornographic photos of their children. The criminal conduct extended over a 12-year period. Williams took photos of the first victim in 2008 and the two other victims on separate occasions in 2020. The jury was shown explicit photos of the victims that included Williams’ hands, including a distinctive tattoo on his middle finger and a scar on his wrist. U.S. Attorney, Francis M. Hamilton, III, of the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico made the announcement.
Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to the indictment and conviction of Williams included the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Western Carolina University Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan L. Gomez and Emily M. Swecker represented the United States at trial.
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 Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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 visit www.justice.gov/psc.
For more information about internet safety education, www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “resources.”
