State College Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Production Of Child Pornography

WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that William S. Welsh, age 30, of State College, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on December 11, 2025, to 360 months' imprisonment by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann for production of child pornography.

According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, throughout 2023, Welsh held himself out as a "babysitter" in order to gain access to several nonverbal and/or autistic toddlers. He later admitted to a friend that he possessed child pornography and that he had sexually exploited at least one of the toddlers he babysat.

Following an investigation by law enforcement, a series of search warrants executed on Welsh's cell phones and computer revealed at least 40 videos of child pornography, including violent rape videos of children under the age of five. The search further revealed 11 sexually explicit photographs of a toddler, taken by Welsh when he was babysitting the toddler on January 15, 2023.

This case was investigated by the State College Police Department, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.usdoj.gov/psc.

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