Monday, July 12, 2021

Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to Serve Fifty Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child Pornography

 OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, William Don Dollarhide, 45, of Nardin, Oklahoma, was sentenced to serve 50 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

On June 16, 2020, a federal grand jury returned an Indictment against Dollarhide, charging him with producing and possessing child pornography.

Public records reflect that, in September 2018, Dollarhide, a registered sex offender due to a prior Oklahoma state child pornography conviction, used his cell phone to film himself sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl.  The child’s mother called the Grant County Sheriff’s Department on May 12, 2019, reporting that Dollarhide had sexually assaulted the girl.  Officers responded to Dollarhide’s residence and arrested him.  Officers later searched his electronic devices under a search warrant.  They discovered photographs and videos of Dollarhide sexually abusing the girl and nude pictures and videos of the girl in the bathroom he produced using a hidden camera.

On October 7, 2020, Dollarhide pleaded guilty to producing child pornography.

Today, U.S. District Judge Scott L. Palk sentenced Dollarhide to serve 50 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  In imposing the sentence, Judge Palk noted that by repeatedly victimizing a 10-year-old girl Dollarhide had given the girl a life sentence.  The Judge also took into consideration the fact that Dollarhide had a collection of other child pornography images on his computer.  In imposing the maximum sentence—600 months’ imprisonment—the Court ensured that Dollarhide would never endanger or exploit a child again.

This case results from an investigation by the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, with forensic analysis assistance from the Enid Police Department and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Hale prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice, 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.

Reference is made to court filings for further information.

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