FORMER UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR CHARGED WITH PRODUCING CHILD PORN

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Monday, June 17, 2013

Former University Professor Charged in California with Engaging in Sexual Conduct with Minors and Producing Child Pornography
Walter Lee Williams Is the 500th Addition to Fbi Top Ten Most Wanted List


Walter Lee Williams, a former university professor, has been indicted for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with minors and producing child pornography, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director Ronald T. Hosko of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division announced today.

Today, the FBI added Williams to its "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list, making him the 500th addition to the list.

Williams was charged in an indictment unsealed on Friday, June 14, 2013, in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California. The indictment, which was filed on April 30, 2013, charges Williams with one count of producing child pornography, one count of traveling for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.

The indictment alleges Williams traveled from Los Angeles to the Philippines in January 2011 to engage in sex acts with two 14-year-old boys he met online in 2010. Prior to his travel, Williams allegedly engaged in sexual activity via Internet webcam sessions with these boys and expressed a desire to visit them in the Philippines to have sex. While in the Philippines, he allegedly engaged in sex acts with both boys and produced sexually explicit photos of one of the boys. Williams fled the Los Angeles area approximately one week after returning from the Philippines.

Williams is a 64-year-old White male. He is 5’9", weighs approximately 180 pounds and has grayish-brown hair and brown eyes. Williams has previously resided in Palm Springs, Calif., and he was affiliated with a religious organization known as the Buddhist Universal Association in Los Angeles. Williams has an extensive history of travel throughout the Southeast Asia region, specifically the Philippines. He has reportedly resided in Indonesia, Polynesia and Thailand. Williams is also alleged to have owned property in Thailand. He may also travel to Mexico and Peru.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of this subject, the newest addition to the "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list. This is an ongoing investigation.

Trial Attorneys Michael Grant and Herbrina Sanders from the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting this case. The FBI Los Angeles field office is investigating the case.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and 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.