Raleigh Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Seeking Child Pornography in Online Chat Rooms

RALEIGH, N.C. – William Robert Jeffery of Wake County was sentenced today to 192 months in prison for accessing the internet with intent to view child pornography.  A federal jury found Jeffery, 61, guilty of the charge on December 22, 2022, following a two-day trial. 

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in spring of 2020, the Raleigh Police Department received reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding illegal internet activity at Jeffery’s Raleigh home.  NCMEC reported that on five occasions from October 2019, to January 2020, a user at that address had submitted images of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM, often referred to as child pornography) into the Microsoft Bing reverse image search, seeking similar images. 

On March 17, 2020, FBI and the Raleigh Police Department executed a search warrant at Jeffery’s home.  He admitted to using a pornographic chat website and viewing clothed images of children, but he denied possessing CSAM material.  A forensic examination of his laptop showed extensive activity on the chat website and multiple CSAM images that had been deleted from the internet history.  The forensic analyst also recovered deleted images of CSAM material on an older computer that Jeffery had used in 2006-2009, along with earlier activity on the same chat website. 

Jeffery has a prior conviction in federal court for traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in a sex act with a minor in 2020, and in 2021, he was convicted in Dare County Superior Court of two counts of indecent liberties with a minor.  

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Raleigh Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.2:20-CR-0464-D.