Orlando, FL – A South Carolina doctor gets 10 years in federal prison for trying to have sex with a minor while vacationing in the Daytona Beach area nearly 3 years ago.
John Francis Williams – a Blythewood resident – was facing life in prison before he was sentenced on Friday by United States District Judge Paul G. Byron.
Williams was convicted by a federal jury last August after a 4-day trial of using the Internet to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity.
The 69-year-old cardiac anesthesiologist was indicted in February 2013, 4 months after the US Department of Justice says he responded to a Craigslist post offering a 14-year-old girl for sex while vacationing at his home in Port Orange.
That advertisement – placed by an undercover officer posing as the girl’s mother – led to a series of emails and phone calls between the officer and Williams before a physical meeting was arranged.
DOJ spokesman William Daniels says Williams went to a home where he was supposed to teach the girl about sex and was carrying an assortment of sex items when he was arrested, including an overnight bag containing condoms, lubricants and vibrators.
Members of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office assisted DOJ in its prosecution of Williams, as did Homeland Security, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
John Francis Williams (mugshot courtesy Volusia County Jail)
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