Sioux Falls Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Lawrence L. Piersol has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on September 30, 2024.

Justin Lee Williams, age 48, was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Once released, Williams must register as a sex offender.

Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury in February of 2024. He pleaded guilty on July 15, 2024.

The conviction stemmed from incidents between March 23, 2023, and June 27, 2023, when Williams possessed images of child pornography. A CyberTip was received which showed that Williams had accessed child pornography on his cellular phone. Law enforcement conducted multiple searches and located two cell phones with several images and videos of child pornography, including that of a minor female as young as 6-10 years old.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.

Williams was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.