TEXARKANA, Texas - A man with a prior conviction for the same offense was sentenced Friday to 10 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
William Johnson Springer, 61, appeared with Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson for sentencing Friday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III in Texarkana's downtown federal building. Springer pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in October.
Springer is required to register as a sex offender because of a 2009 conviction for possession of child pornography he received in a federal court in Oklahoma. He served a 67-month sentence for that offense.
A sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Hornok refers to the prior conviction.
"Mr. Springer's term of supervised release in that case ended in August 2018. By September 2019, Mr. Springer had already downloaded hundreds of images of child pornography," the memo states.
In addition to a 120-month federal prison term, Schroeder ordered Springer to be supervised for life by federal authorities upon release from prison.
Springer possessed a cellphone Sept. 18, 2019, in which videos were found portraying the sexual abuse of very young girls, including an infant, according to his indictment. In one video, an adult male sexually assaults a baby in her crib with his hands.
In a second video on Springer's phone and described in the indictment, a man sexually abuses a prepubescent girl as she cries throughout the recording. A third video depicts a man sexually abusing a blindfolded girl bound with ropes.
Under federal law, defendants found guilty of possessing pornography involving child victims who have been identified by law enforcement are liable for restitution. The material found on Springer's possession included images of four child sexual abuse victims eligible to receive restitution from anyone who downloads or shares the offensive material.
Springer was ordered to pay a total of $14,000 in restitution to the victims.