Law Enforcement Found Defendant on Incest Social Network
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - William Andrew Clarke, 44, of Tappahannock, Virginia, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release for online coercion and enticement of a minor.
Clarke, who also is a resident of Reston, Virginia, was found guilty by a jury on Feb. 24, 2015. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Clarke created a profile page on a social networking website for people who were interested in engaging in incest or sharing their children with others who are interested in sexually abusing children. Clarke was contacted through the website by an undercover agent with HSI. The agent pretended to be a father with two children, ages eight and nine. Clarke described to the undercover agent how he was interested in sexually abusing the two children, and Clarke and the agent made arrangements to meet in Fairfax, Virginia. Clarke traveled from Tappahannock to the designated meeting place, where he was taken into custody.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, D.C. Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, HSI. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Claffee is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:14-cr-246.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
