Junction City Man Charged with Child Pornography Offenses

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on May 5, 2009, BILL L. WILMOTH, III, age 36, of Junction City, Illinois was named in a two-count Indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Benton, Illinois, charging two counts of possession of child pornography.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury. With respect to each Count, WILMOTH, III faces up to 10 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and from 5 years to lifetime supervised release.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Southern Illinois Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office Crimes Against Children Task Force, and a number of state and local law enforcement agencies. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, in which the United States Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with federal and state law enforcement authorities, is actively investigating and prosecuting individuals who produce, distribute, or possess child pornography. Anyone with information concerning the use of the Internet for the purposes of possessing, producing, or trafficking in child pornography is encouraged to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation or their local police department.

The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney George A. Norwood for prosecution.