GREENSBORO, N.C. - A Kernersville man who pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography was sentenced today, announced Matthew G.T. Martin, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.
WILLIAM MICHAEL FOURES, 45, of Kernersville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on March 8, 2018, to one count of receipt of child pornography. He was sentenced by United States District Judge N. Carlton Tilley, Jr. to 78 months of imprisonment followed by 25 years of supervised release.
In May 2017, Kernersville Police Department received a tip that FOURES possessed child pornography on his laptop computer. Police questioned FOURES and, with his permission, reviewed his web browser history. They then obtained a search warrant for his residence. The subsequent search revealed that FOURES possessed well over 1,000 image and numerous video files depicting child pornography. The files were stored on two laptops and 70 CDs. In addition, FOURES had used his printer to print over 100 of the child pornography images. When questioned, FOURES admitted to possessing the contraband for his sexual gratification.
This case was investigated by the Kernersville Police Department, a member of the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation conducted computer forensic analysis on the electronics seized and Homeland Security Investigations adopted the case for federal prosecution. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric L. Iverson.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
