O’Fallon man sentenced in federal court for distributing, receiving child pornography

William L. Isaac, 54, of O’Fallon, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for distributing and receiving child pornography over the internet, U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft announced March 22.

Chief United States District Judge Michael J. Reagan, who handed down the sentence, ordered five additional years of supervised release. Isaac also agreed to pay $3,000 in restitution to an identified victim whose image was found in the collection of child pornography he possessed.

In 2014, on two separate occasions, Isaac uploaded child pornography to a website chat room, according to a release from the federal court. Isaac’s activities were captured by the FBI, which was conducting a nationwide investigation of the website at the time, the release stated.

In September 2017, during a voluntary interview with local FBI agents, Isaac confessed he had uploaded images and videos of child pornography to chat rooms in the past.

Isaac also admitted he regularly browsed child pornography images on the dark web, most recently on the morning of his confession, according to the court. A consensual search of his computer revealed the presence of 67 child pornography videos, including videos depicting children in bondage, child torture, and the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers, as noted in the press release. The videos had been downloaded between July and September 2017.

Earlier this year, Isaac pleaded guilty to a three-count indictment, charging two counts of child pornography distribution and one count of knowingly receiving child pornography over the internet.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.