A Chatham County man has been sentenced to decades in federal prison after pleading guilty to production of child pornography.
Perry Williams III, 24, of Savannah, was sentenced to 360 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to one count of Production of Child Pornography, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Williams to pay restitution of $3,000, to register as a sex offender, and to serve 15 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Protecting our most vulnerable citizens from harm and exploitation is of paramount importance – and that requires stopping predators and removing them from our neighborhoods,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “This substantial prison sentence will help ensure our community’s safety.”
As described in court documents and testimony, Savannah Police officers were alerted in January 2022 when a woman discovered videos on Williams’ phone showing the sexual exploitation of a child. During a subsequent search of Williams’ residence, investigators found videos and other evidence that Williams had used his phone to record four videos in which he performed sexually explicit acts on a child.
“Protecting the children in our communities remains a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations,” said Acting Special Agent in charge Travis Pickard, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “This sentence is a testament that HSI remains committed to identifying and holding accountable individuals who prey on our most vulnerable population.”
Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.
The case was investigated by the Savannah Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer J. Kirkland.