Judge sentences registered sex offender to more than 20 years on child pornography charges

CAPE GIRARDEAU – United States District Judge Rodney W. Sippel sentenced Justin A. Williams to 270 months in prison today. The 29-year-old Cape Girardeau resident pleaded guilty, in December, to one count of receiving child pornography.   

Williams admitted using the internet to solicit sexually explicit material from a 14-year old female from the state of Washington in December 2019. At the time he committed the offense, Williams was already required to register as a sex offender because of his 2015 state conviction for first-degree child molestation from the Circuit Court of Scott County. According to court records from that case, Williams sexually abused a six-year old female relative in 2014. Williams was released from the Missouri Department of Corrections just months before committing the federal offense.

After serving his 270-month federal sentence, Williams will be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life. Williams will also be required to continue registering as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Jack Koester is handling the case.