Repeat Child Sex Offender from Colorado Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison

ST. GEORGE, Utah - A child sex predator from Colorado was sentenced today in Southern Utah to 150 months' imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release after he travelled from Colorado to Utah to have sex with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl, when in fact he was communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer.

The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen, comes after Cody Williams, 31, of Grand Junction, Colorado, pleaded guilty on January 22, 2026, to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to court documents and statements made at Williams's sentencing and change of plea hearings, for over a month, Williams exchanged dozens of sexual messages with whom he thought was a 13-year-old girl. In reality, Williams was communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer. Williams told the undercover officer, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, that he would teach her about various sexual acts and sent her links to sexually explicit videos to teach her. Williams also repeatedly asked for sexually explicit photos of the "13-year-old" girl in return. Working in an undercover capacity, the officer and Williams made plans to meet to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Ahead of meeting, law enforcement followed Williams from his home in Colorado to the planned meeting place in Utah and arrested him. Officers executed a search warrant for Williams's cell phone and found the text message thread between Williams and the undercover officer posing as the teenage girl. Williams has a history of sex offenses against minors. In 2021, he was convicted in Colorado State Court of unlawful sexual contact after committing a sexual assault against a 14-year-old child.

"Communities are safer with predators like Williams behind bars," said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. "Williams is a repeat and dangerous sex offender, and my office has zero tolerance for people who threaten the safety of our most vulnerable population and repeatedly break the law."

"This sentence illustrates HSI's strong commitment to protect our children from predators like Williams who attempt to exploit children," said HSI Rocky Mountain Region SAC Steven Cagen. "The teamwork of HSI working with Grand County Sheriff's Office and the U. S. Attorney's Office ensures this predator is behind bars and we hope this brings some closure to the victim."

The case was investigated jointly by the Grand County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Burton of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.

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 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, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.