The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4-H director arrested on 30 new child porn counts
Thousands of images, videos found on devices.
A 4-H center director who was arrested earlier this month on a charge of possession of child pornography is back in jail, according to the Lumpkin County Sheriff ’s Office.
After his initial arrest Oct. 12, Paul Travis Williams bonded out of jail and professed his innocence.
But the sheriff’s office said Friday they have found thousands of pornographic images and videos on Williams’ storage devices, prompting them to arrest Williams Thursday in Pulaski County on 30 new counts of child porn.
No children or campers were present when the initial images were uploaded to the internet, authorities said.
When allegations first surfaced that Williams uploaded child porn from his work computer at a 4-H camp, he was forthcoming with authorities and allowed them to search his home, his attorney told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this month.
Williams turned over his computers, his hard drives and practically anything that officials thought would have the digital porn on it and gave interviews to police, according to Catherine Bernard.
Even with “having nothing to hide,” the sheriff ’s office still arrested Williams, who — through his lawyer — said he was unsure how officials found any inkling of child porn. Bernard said Williams, 48, had practically a clean record until his arrest. He’d been with the 4-H center in Lumpkin County for 17 years. “We’re talking about someone who hasn’t gotten in trouble beyond a speeding ticket,” she said. Williams is being held in Lumpkin County, the sheriff’s office said.