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William "Willy' Alexander Korthals, 30, of Beaufort, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted transfer of obscene matter to a minor after he targeted minors online, including one in Virginia - or so he thought.
Federal authorities say that Korthals sent at least one nude photo to an employee of the FBI who he believed to be a 9-year-old girl, not an undercover agent investigating his actions online.
According to court documents, in May 2022, Korthals was in a Kik chat room for "Active Parents,” in a group titled “Loving Family,” when he responded to a public group thread that read, “anyone want to come to Virginia to have sex with my daughter?”
Korthals reached out to the individual who posted the thread and inquired about the age of the “daughter” and was told she was 9 years old; however, unbeknownst to Korthals, the thread was posted by an undercover FBI employee posing as the girl’s father.
Then, in an effort to coax the “daughter” to send him pictures, prosecutors said that Korthals sent a photograph of his erect penis.
For more than a year, Korthals continued chatting with the undercover FBI employee and requested “live” photographs of the child as well as other sexually explicit photographs and videos, and also attempted to FaceTime with the undercover “father and daughter.”
Additionally, Korthals described specific acts of sexual abuse he wanted the “father” to perform on his “daughter,” including oral, vaginal, and anal sex.
In preparation for an in-person meeting with the undercover father and his “daughter” in August 2022, Korthals sent his laboratory test results of his sexually-transmitted disease status to the undercover “father” so that Korthals could have unprotected sex with the 9-year-old “daughter.”
Two days before the planned meeting, Korthals cancelled it, but the damage was done.
"One of the cornerstones of the Department of Justice’s mission is protecting the most vulnerable among us: our children.” US Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh said on Wednesday.
“This case should serve as a warning to all predators lurking online seeking to exploit children: You are not invisible, and agents from the FBI and other federal agencies are actively hunting you in every corner of the internet in order to bring you to justice.”
When he is sentenced, Korthals faces a maximum term of up to 10. years in prison or a fine of up to $250,000
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