Latest Headlines
- Highway 168 Bridge Reopened Friday After Repair Completed
- Bicyclist Critical After Being Struck By Vehicle In Century
- Two Century Correctional Officers Charged With Smuggling Drugs Into The Prison
- More Details Released In Case Of Man Accused Of Killing Estranged Wife
- Early Morning Stabbing In Cantonment Under Investigation
- Escambia School Grades Released. See How Your Child’s School Scored.
- No Serious Injuries In Cantonment Highway 29 Crash
- Bond Set For Cottage Hill Man Charged With Threatening To Kill Local Magistrate
- Driver’s License Driving Exams Available Saturday, August 3 During Special Event
- Escambia Man Charged With Killing Wife, Shooting Dog
Molino Man Sentenced To Three Years In Prison On Child Porn Charges
December 30, 2022
A 78-year old Molino man was sentenced Thursday to three years in state prison on child porn charges.
William David Pettus was arrested in March by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on 25 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. He entered a plea to eight of the felony charges, receiving the prison sentence on one court and five years probation consecutively on seven counts. The remainder of the charges were dropped.
Judge John Simon designated Pettus as a sexual offender and ordered him not to have any device with internet access, including phones or computers, one he is released from prison.
The FDLE investigation began in August 2021 after agents identified child sexual abuse material being shared from a computer in Escambia County. Agents obtained and executed a search warrant at Pettus’ residence in February 2022. Forensic examinations of his electronic devices uncovered evidence of videos featuring children being abused, according to FDLE.
In documents obtained by NorthEscambia.com, a FDLE special agent said an IP address belonging to Pettus was used to share files of known pornography between August 3, 2021, and again between January 23 and January 24, 2022. A search warrant was served at Pettus’ home at 3101 Crabtree Church Road in March 2022.
“William Pettus identified the two desktop computers in his office were his and that his wife did not use computers”, an arrest warrant states.
According to FDLE, 25 child pornographic images of male and female children as young as three were recovered from Pettus’ desktop computer, CDs, and external hard drives.
The investigation was conducted by FDLE with assistance of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
Comments
14 Responses to “Molino Man Sentenced To Three Years In Prison On Child Porn Charges”
Tired of the idiocy …. yes you can, I know for a fact and it’s not from Fox News. Do YOUR research please.
Stanley, you can’t abort a full term fetus anywhere in the US. Turn off fox news and try to get an education please.
Why not castrate these people? They are not gonna stop until caught. If you can abort a full term fetus, I don’t see why you cannot stop it before it even has a chance to happen.
That’s unacceptable. Every state needs someone whose a survivor of sexual abuse consulted on stuff like this. Destroy a child’s trust, take their innocence and that’s it? He just changed their entire life and gave them issues. Now my biggest question is..who are the kids?
Sometimes things just don’t add up with this system. Wow!
Though I think people like him are purely evil and should be locked in a fiery place, away from even seeing any children; there are Sentencing Guidelines and he probably has no prior record. Thus the lenient sentence. Still, he has a few hundred days to spend in his cell and a name stamped on him for life. That’s a start.
Those who have gotten “cought” with drugs or herb as mentioned, usually receive those sentences because of VOP or the amount possessed at the time of arrest. If you’re arrested for a drug charge and currently on probation, the penalty carries a more severe sentence. It also depends on the score sheet. The amount of points a person compiles will dictate a jail or prison sentence. There’s more to it than meets the eye.
There are many variables that determine a sentence. The SA can levy a charge but after further review & research into the charge and the ability to it can be dropped. The circumstances involved also play a part in the sentence. Without knowing those particulars your comments are off base. He got what he deserved by statute. The statutes are strong. He’ll spend 3 years in state prison, followed by 10 years supervised probation as the article states. Some people don’t spend a night in jail depending on the charges and their ability to bond out. Some charges have bonds, some don’t. Also, the judge can choose to increase, decrease or revoke bond at 1st Appearance. Please learn about the law before you rant and rave. It makes you look silly.
3 Years? 3 years for taking part in destroying a child. What is wrong with our judicial system? Are they all pedophiles taking up for one another? We must protect our children, not these sick-o’s.
Why just a slap on the wrist?
I’ve seen people getting a lot more time for having a natural herb on them.
Only 3 years in prison? The state must not have wanted him to die on their watch. Regularly, other younger offenders receive 15 year or longer sentences.
THREE YEARS……
WOW! I know people who have gotten cought with drugs and get 10-20 years.
Justice system fails again.
You got to be kidding.Only 3 years ? Maybe we can get justice from the prisoners who hate child creeps.
I am glad he is getting time behind bars …. just don’t understand though how one gets prison time and another registered sex offender (large business owner living in Molino) is a registered sex offender but never spent a night a jail? How does that work?
Dazed and Confused