U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced William Nobles, 61, to five years in federal prison for possession of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
Nobles was also sentenced to a 20-year term of supervised release and was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Nobles was found guilty following a bench trial on January 16, 2020.
According to court documents, FBI agents began an undercover investigation to identify individuals who were using a particular website on the dark web to access and download images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. From February 20, 2015 to March 3, 2015, Nobles accessed visual images of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
FBI agents executed a federal search warrant at Nobles’s residence. During an interview with law enforcement, Nobles admitted to accessing and viewing child pornography on the website. A subsequent forensic examination of Nobles’s computer, CDs, and thumb drive revealed images and videos depicting children being sexually abused that Nobles had accessed and downloaded using the dark web.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Myers Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.