39-year-old William Andrew Chapman, who pled guilty to one count of child exploitation, has been sentenced to 10 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch said Chapman will be subject to 5 years supervised probation upon release from incarceration and was ordered to pay $1,000 to the Mississippi Children’s Trust Fund, $1,000 to the Victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Fund, $1,000 to the Public Defenders Fund, an additional $4,000 penalty, and all court costs.
This case originated from a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) tip about a Google user who uploaded several images of child sexual abuse material. During the execution of a search warrant at the Defendant’s residence, investigators with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office located a cellular device containing multiple images. The Defendant acknowledged ownership and control of the phone and admitted to the download and possession of child exploitative imagery.
Fitch said, “Targeting vulnerable children and exploiting them for personal pleasure is unconscionable, particularly when you consider the trauma these vicious predators inflict. Their victims lose their innocence and suffer long after the actual act of exploitation. I commend our talented team of investigators and prosecutors in the Cyber Crime Division for their work to keep child predators offline and out of our communities.”
Chapman will be required to register as sex offender and will serve his sentence day-for-day without the possibility of parole.
