Man paid to watch Filipino children being sexually abused

William Hutcheson Ledford
William Hutcheson Ledford has been sentenced to eight years in prison

WILLIAM HUTCHESON LEDFORD: An American who paid to watch live video of sex acts being performed on Filipino children has been sentenced to eight years.

William Hutcheson Ledford, aged 40 from Johnson County, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge in June.

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Ledford will receive credit for the nearly 15 months he’s already been jailed, said his attorney Mitchell Warnock.

Mr Warnock said he and the prosecution asked the judge to use his discretion to issue a sentence less than the 15-year mandatory minimum for the charge.

“We were pleased that the judge came below the mandatory 15 years,” he said.

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According to The Telegraph newspaper, Ledford cooperated with investigators when a search warrant was served at his home, providing passwords to his accounts. He admitted that he received child pornography via email and that he watched live abuse of children.

In a sentencing memorandum filed with the court, Warnock said his client worked in the Information Technology department at Swainsboro Technical College and performed computer work for the Wrightsville police for free.

He also worked with the fire departments of Johnson and Emanuel counties to recover security camera footage and data to investigate the cause of fires.

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William Hutcheson Ledford never had girlfriend

Never having had a girlfriend or a romantic relationship, Ledford spent most of his free time in the cyber world, Mr Warnock wrote.

Ledford wrote a letter to the judge some time ago and expressed remorse. In the letter he said he “felt horrible” about what he was doing.

“I would most of the time break down in tears about it, and ask the good Lord to forgive me for what I’ve done,” Ledford wrote, adding that he prayed that God would kill him if he touched someone inappropriately.

Ledford used Yahoo Messenger to talk to women in the Philippines who offered him pornography and child “shows” in exchange for money.

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