Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting a Minor to North Carolina and to Producing Child Pornography

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that William H. Schliebener, Jr., 51, formerly of Sanford, North Carolina, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to transporting a minor in interstate commerce for the purpose of illegal sexual activity and production of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant came to the attention of law enforcement in October 2010 when a young Canandaigua girl was reported missing. Members of the Canandaigua Police Department and the Lee County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Department found the child with the defendant in North Carolina. As part of his plea, Schiebener admitted to transporting the child from Canandaigua to North Carolina with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity. Following the discovery of the child, a search warrant was executed at the defendant’s residence in North Carolina, and officers seized computers and digital media. Forensic analysis of the media revealed images of the defendant engaged in sexual activity with three children. As part of his plea, Schliebener also pleaded guilty to three counts of producing images of child pornography.

The defendant was scheduled to go to trial on the charges on Monday, April 7, 2014.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; members of the Canandaigua Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jonathan P. Welch; and members of the Lee County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Tracy L. Carter.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 10 at 3:00p.m. before of Judge Geraci.