HOUSTON - A 48-year-old man from Houston has entered a guilty plea to sexual exploitation of a child, distribution and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
William Lee Niver appeared today before U.S. District Judge Gray Miller and entered a plea of guilty to one count of production of child pornography, two counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Niver first came to the attention of law enforcement after he had sent images of child pornography to an undercover agent. Federal agents executed a search warrant at Niver’s residence and performed a forensic examination on his computer which resulted in the discovery of more than 6,000 images and 1,000 videos of young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images included children under the age of 12, bondage and acts of violence. Some of the images are of known victims as identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
At the time of the plea, Niver admitted to taking sexually explicit photographs and a video of a minor relative and emaileing them to others.
Judge Miller has set sentencing for Sept. 1, 2016. At that time, Niver faces a minimum of 15 and up to 30 years in federal prison for the production, up to 20 years imprisonment on each of the distribution convictions and a maximum of 10 years for possessing child pornography.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Ann Leo and Carrie A. Wirsing, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
