From The Tribune staff reports
HUNTSVILLE — A Decatur man was sentenced to 160 years in prison for soliciting videos and webcam shows of Filipina children being sexually abused.
A federal jury convicted Walter on October 5, 2021, of four counts of producing and attempting to produce child pornography and one count each of receiving and distributing child pornography.
Court documents and evidence presented at trial state Walter used two web service provider accounts, including messenger and webcam applications, to seek women in the Philippines to sexually abuse their own children and relatives.
According to a statement from U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona’s office, “Walter’s requests to these women, which spanned approximately three years, included directions to arrange for the gang rape of young children and to sexually assault several young children in other harmful ways.”
Records state that Walter sent money to the Philippines for the videos, images, and live transmissions via Moneygram, Western Union, and other money remitters in $25 to $50 increments. In addition to the live webcam shows, Walter also sent and received emails to which the senders attached images and videos of young children engaged in sex acts with adult men.
This investigation and prosecution were part of a joint FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations operation that targeted the buyers and sellers of these types of webcam shows in the Philippines.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the 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 marshals federal, state, and local resources to better 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.