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Thursday, following a three-day trial in United States District Court, Greeneville, a federal jury convicted Sean Christopher Williams, 53, of Johnson City, on three counts of Production of Child Pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a).

Sentencing is set for February 24, 2025, at 9 a.m., before United States District Judge J. Ronnie Greer, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Williams faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison as to each count.The evidence presented at trial showed that Williams used three minor children to engage in sexually explicit conduct and took photos of the sexually explicit conduct. The conduct occurred at Williams’ apartment in Johnson City. The evidence showed that Williams sexually assaulted each of the victims’ mothers while they were unconscious, around the same time that he took pornographic photos of their children. The criminal conduct extended over a 12-year period. Williams took photos of the first victim in 2008 and the two other victims on separate occasions in 2020. The jury was shown explicit photos of the victims that included Williams’ hands, including a distinctive tattoo on his middle finger and a scar on his wrist. U.S. Attorney, Francis M. Hamilton III, of the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico made the announcement.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to the indictment and conviction of Williams included the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Western Carolina University Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan L. Gomez and Emily M. Swecker represented the United States at trial.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.