San Diego

Camp Pendleton Fire Dispatcher Sentenced for Child Porn Offenses

Walsh's conduct was "on the extreme end of the cases I have seen," the judge said

A Vista man who once served as a civilian employee at the Camp Pendleton Fire Department was sentenced Monday to more than 17 years behind bars for possessing and distributing child pornography. 

Jurors convicted William Francis Walsh IV, 55, in February of two counts of distribution and one count of possession of images with minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, federal prosecutors said. 

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia sentenced Walsh to 210 months in federal custody. 

Walsh's conduct was "on the extreme end of the cases I have seen," the judge said according to a U.S. Attorney's Office news release. 

NBC 7 first reported on Walsh's arrest in November 2015. The investigation five months earlier when detectives and the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force were able to obtain videos of child pornography online from Walsh, according to Escondido Police.

In July, police used a search warrant and took computer equipment from Walsh's home. During forensic analysis, they claim they found an extensive collection of child pornography images and videos downloaded and distributed electronically from the residence.

A Camp Pendleton spokesperson confirmed in a statement that Walsh had worked on base as a fire department dispatcher and was not active military, but a civilian government employee.

Escondido police tell NBC 7 that NCIS assisted in the investigation and that police say the evidence they gathered indicated that no computer on Camp Pendleton was used in the alleged crimes.

Prosecutors said evidence at trial showed Walsh used peer-to-peer file-sharing software to download "hundreds of files with names indicative of child pornography." 

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