District of Connecticut | Hartford Man Admits Possession of Sexual Abuse Videos and Images

Vanessa Roberts Avery, District Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JONATHAN WILLIAMS, 33, of Hartford, waived his right to be charged and pleaded guilty today in federal court in Hartford to a felony charge of child exploitation.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated a network of individuals who used private groups on an internet chat application to share images and videos of child sexual abuse. The investigation revealed that an account linked to Williams was an active member of one of these groups, and that Williams was convicted in North Carolina in 2015 of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

On June 1, 2023, detectives conducted a court-authorized search of Williams’ residence. Williams was arrested at that time after a preliminary review of his laptop revealed videos of child sexual abuse. Subsequent analysis of his laptop and iPhone revealed more than 1,500 videos and 7,000 images of child pornography, including videos and images of sadistic and masochistic behavior and other images of violence and sexual abuse of infants and toddlers.

Williams pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years. The sentences in this case were enhanced based on Williams’ prior conviction in North Carolina.

Williams has been in custody since his arrest.

This case was investigated by HSI with assistance from the Connecticut Center for Digital Investigations, the Connecticut State Police, and the Hartford and Westport Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel E. Cummings.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which aims to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.