Former sheriff’s office employee pleads guilty to trying to pay woman to sexually abuse her child

A former employee of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has pleaded guilty to attempting the commercial sex trafficking of a child, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida W. Stephen Muldrow announced Wednesday.

After a tip was received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detective began investigating 60-year-old Michael Eugene Williams. A search of his house in 2016 found more than 450 photos and videos of child pornography on his cell phone, according to a Department of Justice press release.

From a look at his text messages, investigators found that from Feb. 25 to Sept. 28, 2016, Williams had asked a Texas woman multiple times to record her sexually abusing her 4-year-old daughter and to sell him the images, according to the press release. The two had exchanged about 337 text messages over a seven-month period, which were mostly about the woman’s daughter.

Williams also used funds from his Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office retirement pension to send as many as 19 Western Union wire transfers to the mother for the images. The Bradenton Herald has submitted a public records request inquiring what Williams’ role was at the sheriff’s office.

After the images were discovered, federal and local law enforcement in Texas was notified about the abuse and the child was removed from the home. When law enforcement searched Williams’ home on Oct. 21, they found new videos of the girl and text messages saying he wanted to perform sexual acts on the child, according to the press release.

The mother pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography in the Northern District of Texas federal court and faces up to 60 years in prison.

Williams faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years in prison, but he could spend his life behind bars.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly S. Karase is prosecuting.

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Former sheriff’s office employee pleads guilty to trying to pay woman to sexually abuse her child."