Recidivist Sex Offender Sentenced
Used Computer to Solicit Sex with a Minor

GREENSBORO, NC—A Burlington man was sentenced today to 300 months in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor, announced United States Attorney Ripley Rand.

William Todd Flowers, 37, of Burlington, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on April 9, 2013, to one count of online coercion and enticement of a person under 18 for criminal sexual activity, an offense punishable by no less than 15 years’ imprisonment. He was sentenced by United States District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder to 300 months’ imprisonment followed by lifetime supervised release. Flowers was also ordered to forfeit a cell phone and a vehicle used in the offense.

“This case is yet another example of the power of effective partnership between federal, state, and local authorities,” stated United States Attorney Rand. “We will continue to work together to make the Internet a safe place for children and to make sure that those who are intent on using the Internet and other technology to abuse children are punished accordingly.”

The offense was committed between June 15, 2012 and October 12, 2012, using a social networking site. Flowers’ activity was reported by that site to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who relayed the information to the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office. At the time of the offense, Flowers was a registered sex offender and on state probation for felony solicitation of a child by computer, having been convicted in Alamance County in 2010.

This case was investigated by members of the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, including the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anand P. Ramaswamy.

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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.