RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced a Louisburg man to over 17 years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). William Justin Lewis, age 55, pleaded guilty on August 19, 2025.
“Innocent children require all of us to protect them. If deviant criminal predators harm children in our District, they can expect the FBI and other partners in law enforcement to find them, prosecute them, and lock them away from our children for decades,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boye. “On behalf of families all across North Carolina, we thank Judge Dever for this appropriately lengthy prison sentence to punish this coward’s truly abhorrent behavior.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, undercover agents with the FBI investigated online distributors and traders of CSAM when agents located a chat room where a user, later identified as Lewis, uploaded numerous disturbing images and videos of CSAM. Agents traced the IP address back to the Louisburg residence where Lewis lived. The FBI, with the assistance of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant on Lewis’s residence and seized numerous digital devices that contained hundreds of disgusting CSAM videos and images. At the time of the crimes, Lewis worked at a Wal-Mart in Louisburg as a personal shopper.
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 partners federal, state, and local resources locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
W. Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Dodson and Charity Wilson prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on USAO EDNC website . Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:25-CR-00094-D-KS.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Eastern District of North Carolina — U.S. Department of Justice press release.