WALKER COUNTY, Ga. — A north Georgia man who lived near and worked at a local grocery store has been sentenced to decades in prison after investigators uncovered what prosecutors described as a massive collection of child sexual abuse material.
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According to the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, a jury convictedMark Anthony Williams, 68, on all 16 counts of sexual exploitation of children following a three-day trial.
The investigation began in neighboring Catoosa County during an unrelated child exploitation case. Authorities said detectives discovered conversations between Williams and another man, Brian Lawson, in which the two allegedly exchanged child sexual abuse images and videos and discussed desires to abuse children.
Investigators were particularly alarmed by photographs of young children in stores that Williams allegedly sent to Lawson, according to prosecutors.
Detectives later determined Williams lived in Walker County and obtained search warrants for his home. During the search, authorities seized hundreds of DVDs, USB drives, computers and hard drives containing an enormous amount of child sexual abuse material.
Prosecutors said investigators recovered:
- 418 DVDs containing more than 12,000 images and videos
- 12 USB drives containing tens of thousands of additional files
- Computers and hard drives containing more than 266,000 files of child sexual abuse material
Authorities also said one flash drive contained nude images of a child known to Williams, along with a diary in which he allegedly documented years of sexual abuse involving the child.
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According to prosecutors, Williams later admitted to investigators that he had been collecting child pornography for more than 20 years. He also admitted to photographing children in grocery stores and other public places.
During the trial, prosecutors presented a small sample of the evidence recovered from Williams’ home. They also introduced photographs and videos that prosecutors said corroborated diary entries describing years of abuse.
Following the guilty verdict on June 3, A judge immediately held a sentencing hearing and imposed the maximum sentence allowed under Georgia law — 300 years in prison followed by 20 years of sex offender probation.
“Prosecuting child predators, like Williams, remains a top priority for our office,” Acting District Attorney Deanna Reisman said in a statement. “We thank Senior ADA Wolfe and our law enforcement partners for their dedication to the pursuit of justice for the thousands of children, both known and unknown, who were victimized by Williams.”
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