Fayette County Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation Crimes

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – William Lawrence Bryant, 33, of Fayetteville, was sentenced today to 18 years in prison, to be followed by 25 years of supervised release, for sexual exploitation of a minor and distribution of child pornography. Bryant must also register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 1, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Bryant’s residence and seized multiple digital media devices including computers, cell phones, and external hard drives. A forensic analysis of the seized devices revealed over 17,000 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including 20 images of child pornography that Bryant produced himself.

Bryant told the officers that he downloaded and distributed child pornography on various internet platforms and websites for several years. Bryant admitted that the digital media devices were his and contained images and videos showing prepubescent minor male children subjected to sexually explicit conduct. Bryant further admitted that the child pornography he possessed included a video of a male toddler being sexually assaulted by an adult male.

A photograph on one of the seized cell phones depicts Bryant naked with a minor male child who was asleep and in underwear. Bryant admitted to taking the photograph and further admitted that the minor male child was younger than 12 years old.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, the West Virginia State Police, and the FBI Baltimore field office.

Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Keefe and Julie M. White prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-112.

###