Taylorville, Illinois, Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Taylorville, Illinois, man, William Single, 53, of the 100 block of West 2^nd Street, was sentenced on December 5, 2022, to 70 months in federal prison, to be followed by seven years of supervised release, for possessing child pornography in April 2021. He was also ordered to pay $10,000.00 in restitution to one of his child pornography victims, and he must register as a sex offender.

At the sentencing hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough, the government presented evidence that Single was responsible for possessing over 600 images of child pornography and traded child pornography with an individual living in New Jersey. Single and the individual in New Jersey communicated using an online messenger application.

Single was indicted in November 2021 and pleaded guilty in August 2022. He has remained in the custody of the United States Marshal since his arrest on November 9, 2021.

The statutory penalties for possessing child pornography are up to 20 years’ imprisonment, between five years and a life term of supervised release, and a $250,000.00 fine.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Springfield, Illinois, and Newark, New Jersey, Field Offices investigated the case, assisted by Illinois State Police and the Taylorville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner K. Jacobs represented the government in the prosecution.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. 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.