WALKER COUNTY — Mark Anthony Williams, 68, was convicted by a Walker County jury on June 3 on 16 counts of sexual exploitation of children. Superior Court Judge Chris Arnt presided over the three-day trial and subsequently sentenced Williams to 300 years in prison, followed by 20 years of sex offender probation.

The jury found Williams guilty on all counts for possessing child sexual abuse material. The 300-year sentence represents the maximum penalty permitted by Georgia law for these offenses. Trial evidence presented to the jury included material depicting infants, toddlers, and bestiality.

The investigation began with a tip from the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office. Detectives executed search warrants at Williams' residence, recovering 418 DVDs and 12 USB drives. The Department of Homeland Security verified they contained more than 266,000 files of child sexual abuse material.

Williams admitted to investigators that he had collected child pornography for over 20 years. He confessed to photographing children at public locations and molesting a relative of his long-term boyfriend in another state. Prosecutors presented evidence confirming the molestation occurred over a five-year period.

Acting District Attorney Deanna Reisman said, "Prosecuting child predators, like Williams, remains a top priority for our office. We thank Senior ADA Wolfe and our law enforcement partners for their dedication to the pursuit of justice for the thousands of children, both known and unknown, who were victimized by Williams." Senior Assistant District Attorney David Wolfe and Victim Witness Advocate Ashley Nicholson presented the prosecution's case.