Jacksonville, Florida - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that William Marion Patterson, III (47, Jacksonville) has been charged with receiving child pornography over the Internet and possessing it on his computer media. If convicted of any one of the three receipt counts, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison, and a life term of supervised release. If convicted of either of the two possession charges, he faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment, and a potential life term of supervision. Patterson was arrested on July 15, 2016. His arraignment and detention hearing is scheduled for July 19, 2016, at 2:30 p.m.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case 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 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.justice.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
