Man Indicted for Conspiracy to Produce Images of Child Sexual Abuse

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal indictment was unsealed today charging a Mathews County man with production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a child.

According to the indictment, William Wellington Hooper, Jr., 53, and a charged co-conspirator conspired together to produce child pornography of a child identified as Jane Doe 1.

Hooper is charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography, production of child pornography and two counts of coercion and enticement of a child. If convicted, Hooper faces mandatory minimums of 15 years in prison on the conspiracy and production charges and 10 years in prison on the coercion and enticement charges. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and L. Mark Barrick, Sheriff of Mathews County, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa McKeel and Howard Zlotnick are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:20-cr-18.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.