Former Houston County IT employee sentenced for possessing child porn

BONAIRE — A Bonaire man faces prison time after pleading guilty to having child pornography, according to the Houston County District Attorney’s Office.

William Weaver, 49, was sentenced on May 6 to 40 years, with the first 16 served in prison. Upon release, he will need to submit to sex offender conditions during probation and register as a sex offender.

Investigation into the case started in 2024, where, on May 26, the Houston County Juvenile Investigation’s division recieved a tip from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations’ Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The GBI recieved the tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who was alerted by Discord, a social media app.

Discord reported five images of suspected child pornography uploaded to the app in October 2023. The ICAC tracked the IP address of the device involved and it was tied to the Houston County Annex Building. The Discord account was linked to Weaver, who at the time was an employee of the county’s information technology department.

Based on the tips and further investigation, Houston County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for Weaver’s residence. Deputies found devices with multiple images and videos depicting child pornography, leading to 25 counts of sexual exploitation.

Lt. Darin Meadows of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the ICAC Task Force, investigated the case.

Weaver was sentenced by Houston County Superior Court Judge Katherine Lumsden and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Justin Duane.

Duane and District Attorney Eric Edwards provided comments.

“Child pornography is always vile and horrendous, but the images and videos found on Mr. Weaver’s devices are exceptionally vile. They are so bad I don’t even want to describe them. It’s absolutely disgusting. 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. Prison is exactly where he should be,” Duane said.

Edwards said, “Cases involving the sexual exploitation of children are among the most disturbing and reprehensible matters this office handles. The material involved in this investigation was not abstract or victimless—it documented the abuse and exploitation of real children. Every image and video recovered represented a child who was harmed for the gratification of predators like this defendant.

“What makes this case especially troubling is the position of trust the defendant occupied within this community while engaging in this conduct. 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.

“I am grateful for the work of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as well as the prosecution of this case by Senior Assistant District Attorney Justin Duane. These investigations are painstaking, technical, and emotionally difficult, but they are critically important to protecting children and identifying those who contribute to their exploitation. The sentence imposed reflects the seriousness of these crimes and our commitment to ensuring that those who engage in this conduct are removed from our community.”