Cape man sentenced on child pornography charge

A federal judge sentenced a Cape Girardeau man to more than 20 years in prison on a child pornography charge.

U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel handed down the 270-month sentence to 29-year-old Justin Williams, who pleaded guilty in December to one count of receiving child pornography.

Court records indicated Williams admitted using the internet to solicit sexually explicit material from a 14-year-old Washington state girl.

At the time he committed the offense, Williams was already required to register as a sex offender because of his 2015 state conviction for first-degree child molestation from the Circuit Court of Scott County. According to court records from that case, Williams sexually abused a 6-year-old female relative in 2014. Williams was released from the Missouri Department of Corrections months before committing the federal offense.

After serving his 270-month federal sentence, Williams will be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life. Williams will also be required to continue registering as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by Missouri State Highway Patrol and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the government.