Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that a federal jury has found William Jack Filing (29, Clearwater) guilty of receiving child sexual abuse material. Filing faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison and registration as a sex offender. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 9, 2025.
According to evidence presented at trial, Filing was involved in an online chat with other others who discussed their desires to sexually abuse little boys. During the chats, Filing received videos of a child being sexually abused. Filing also expressed his desires to abuse children between the ages of one and four.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations–Tampa with substantial assistance from the Clearwater Police Department and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force of Central Florida. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin Claire Favorit and Abigail King.
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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 www.justice.gov/psc.
Originally published at https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/federal-jury-finds-clearwater-man-guilty-receiving-child-sexual-abuse-material
