Syracuse Man Sentenced To Over 21 Years For Child Sexual Abuse Material

William Futrell sentenced for conviction of child sexual abuse material

A Syracuse NY man pleaded guilty on May 21, 2024, to receiving child sexual abuse material from multiple minors using the app SnapChat. William Futrell, 31, of Syracuse plead guilty to 10 counts of receiving the child sexual abuse material. 

As part of his plea he admitted to using SnapChat to talk with minors, offering to pay the children to send explicit images to him. However, he had no intention of paying them. On at least 10 occasions that he was charged Futrell obtained images depicting the minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. William is a registered sex offender with a previous conviction for possession of child sexual abuse material. 

On July 19, 2023, investigators got a tip that SnapChat had reported a user uploading a video depicting child sexual abuse material on May 11, 2023. The video showed a man, with visible tattoos, in the process of self-gratification to a video of child pornography. Investigators linked an IP address and phone number to Futrell. The tattoos on his hands and forearms matched the ones visible on the SnapChat videos. These also matched photos on his Facebook page and past photos the law enforcement had taken of his tattoos. Futrell is a level 2 sex offender who was convicted for promoting a sexual performance by a child in 2015. On August 30, 2023, officers issued a search warrant for William’s SnapChat account where officers discovered dozens of chats associated with images and videos depicting child pornography. 

At his sentencing on October 27, 2024, Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes sentenced William Futrell to 262 months (over 21 years) in federal prison following his conviction of 10 counts of child sexual abuse material. Futrell was also ordered to serve a 15-year term of post-incarceration supervised release. He will be required to again register as a sex offender. (Departnent of Justice , 2024)