William Power McCaughan, Jr., a Miami lawyer and former prosecutor, has been sentenced to 190 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a count of production of child sexual abuse material. U.S. District Judge imposed the sentence on August 28, according to details from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
McCaughan's disturbing actions unfolded over several years where he used the messaging app Kik to engage in conversations about child sexual abuse material, per court documents during his plea—McCaughan was found to have received a video of an 11-year-old child, nude, from another individual and also solicited sexually explicit images from at least two minor victims, instructing them on how to pose for the images, raising serious concerns about the exploitation that occurs under the guise of anonymity on digital platforms.
A restitution hearing for McCaughan's case has been set for Nov. 19, as stated in a press release from the Justice Department. The case was investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, and the prosecution was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abbie D. Waxman and Lauren Astigarraga-Little, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon overseeing asset forfeiture.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative that the Department of Justice launched in 2006 aiming to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, it marshals a multitude of federal, state, and local resources to track and prosecute offenders, as well as to aid in the identification and rescue of victims, for those looking for more information or wishing to submit tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit the FBI tips website.
For anyone concerned about child abuse, exploitation, or other related crimes, they are encouraged to contact authorities; related court documents and further case details are publicly accessible on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida or via the PACER system under case number 23-cr-20325.
