Wilmington Man Sentenced to 100 Months for Child Pornography Offenses

 RALEIGH, N.C. – A Wilmington man was sentenced today to 100 months in prison for his role in the receipt, possession, and distribution of child pornography.  The man was also sentenced to a five year term of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, William Gene Kaleb Koch, 45, used an online conferencing and screen sharing application (“Application A”) to receive and share child pornography with other users in a virtual “room.”  An undercover agent with Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) was able to gain access to the room and observed the user “NC Pig,” who was later identified as Koch, sharing child pornography and sexual exploitation material and engaging in chats with other users about the sexual exploitation of minors on at least 12 separate occasions.

Investigators tracked the NC Pig user to Koch’s residence in Wilmington, and obtained a federal search warrant that was executed by HSI agents and the Wilmington Police Department on August 9, 2018.  Koch was present and agreed to a non-custodial interview in which he admitted to using Application A, as well as receiving and possessing child pornography.  Later forensic review of Koch’s electronic devices revealed hundreds of videos and still images of child pornography (total image equivalent exceeding 14,000 images), the majority of which depicted children under 12 years of age, and some of which depicted infants and portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.

Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle.  Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with the assistance of the Wilmington Police Department and the United States Secret Service, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Stephany  prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. For more information about this important national initiative, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on our website.  Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:19-CR-00143-BO.