British Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Traveling to Tennessee for Sex with a Minor and Attempting to Entice a Minor to Have Sex

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - On July 26, 2018, Roy Anthony Williams, of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge, to serve 120 months in federal prison for traveling from the United Kingdom to Tennessee for the purpose of having sex with a minor and attempting to persuade and entice the minor to have sex with him.  Following his release from prison, Williams will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years and required to register with the sex offender registry in any state in which he resides, works, or attends school.  Williams will also be subject to deportation from the United States following his release from prison.

In March 2018, Williams pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from his travel from the United Kingdom to Lenoir City, Tennessee, for the purpose of having sex with a 13-year-old girl and then communicating with the girl via text messages in order to arrange for the girl to meet him at a local motel to have sex.  The girl’s mother discovered the text messages from Williams on her daughter’s phone and reported the contact to the Lenoir City Police Department.  A search of his cellular telephone and computer resulted in the discovery of evidence confirming that Williams had been grooming the girl online for several months, via various social media platforms, to have sex with her.

“Sexual predators like Williams use the Internet and social media to find children, particularly teenagers, to groom and entice for illicit sexual activity.  Parents should be vigilant to protect their children from would-be child molesters who are prowling the Internet for young victims,” said J. Douglas Overbey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.  “Our office will continue to work with investigative agencies to build cases and prosecute the offenders of these heinous crimes,” added U.S. Attorney Overbey.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Lenoir City Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Morris represented the United States in court proceedings.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

###