Former Houston County IT worker sentenced for ‘exceptionally vile’ child porn
A Bonaire man who was employed as an IT worker for the Houston County government will serve 16 years in prison for possessing child pornography, according to District Attorney Eric Edwards in a news release Thursday.
William McCord Weaver, 49, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two of the 25 sexual exploitation of children charges against him, the news release and court records showed. The other 23 counts against him were dismissed as part of the plea, according to court records.
Weaver uploaded five explicit images of children to the social media platform Discord in October 2023, which led the company to report it to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, the news release said.
The bureau investigated the IP address and found it was “associated with the Houston County Government Annex Building,” according to the news release.
At the time, Weaver worked in the information technology department for the Houston County government, according to the news release.
Weaver was eventually identified as the suspect. A search warrant was executed in his home, where several electronic devices were found. Deputies found multiple images and videos containing child pornography on the devices, according to the news release.
“What makes this case especially troubling is the position of trust the defendant occupied within this community while engaging in this conduct,” Edwards said. “The public has every right to expect that individuals entrusted with access to government systems and sensitive information will conduct themselves lawfully and responsibly. Instead, this defendant used internet platforms to participate in the exploitation of children.”
His 16-year prison sentence will be followed by 24 years of probation, the news release said. Weaver will be required to register as a sex offender for life when released.
“Child pornography is always vile and horrendous, but the images and videos found on Mr. Weaver’s devices are exceptionally vile,” Senior District Attorney Justin Duane said in the news release. “They are so bad, I don’t even want to describe them … It’s made even worse by the fact that he was a trusted employee for the county IT department while he was looking at this garbage.”
Court records did not specify when Weaver’s employment with the Houston County government ended.
