Former Prosecutor Sentenced to Over 15 Years in Prison for Producing Child Pornography

MIAMI - A U.S. District Judge sentenced William Power McCaughan, Jr., a Miami attorney and former prosecutor, to 190 months' imprisonment following his plea of guilty to one count of production of child sexual abuse material.

According to the agreed upon factual proffer in support of McCaughan, Jr.'s guilty plea in May, over a course of years McCaughan, Jr. chatted with others using the Kik application regarding child sexual abuse material. Specifically, McCaughan, Jr. chatted with another individual and received a video of that individual's 11-year-old niece fully nude while exiting the shower. Also, McCaughan, Jr. chatted with at least two minor victims regarding sexual acts. McCaughan, Jr. asked one minor victim for sexually explicit images, even telling the minor victim how to position himself and what parts of his adolescent body to capture in the image.

McCaughan, Jr. was sentenced on Aug. 28. A restitution hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abbie D. Waxman and Lauren Astigarraga-Little prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

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 United States Attorneys' 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. For more information about the PSC initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Anyone with information regarding suspected child abuse, exploitation and sextortion is encouraged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-20325.

###