冒充作战退伍军人骗信任、南卡男子藏203幅儿童性虐待影像被判109个月监禁
美国司法部南卡罗来纳区联邦检察官办公室宣布，位于南卡罗来纳州 Lexington 的46岁男子 William Steven Wooten，被判处109个月联邦监禁，刑满后另须接受20年的法院监督释放。联邦检察官 Bryan Stirling 公布了这一判决。Wooten 今年早些时候经联邦陪审团裁定持有儿童性虐待材料罪名成立。
联邦调查局（FBI）最初调查的是 Wooten 的「盗用军人荣誉」行为：他持有一份伪造的 DD-214 退伍文件，自称作战退伍军人并谎称获得紫心勋章，实际上他从未在军队服役。他用这份假文件谋求工作，并说服一位单亲母亲相信他是可靠正直的人、可以接触她的年幼子女。
FBI 取得搜查令检查 Wooten 的手机后，除假退伍文件外，还发现了儿童性虐待材料。法医检验人员在手机中找到203幅描绘儿童性虐待的影像，搜索记录显示他专门寻找年幼女童的影像，包括儿童遭成年男性虐待的内容。就在 FBI 查获这些材料与假文件的约八个月前，Wooten 刚在州法院被裁定对未成年人实施刑事性行为有罪；2026年2月其联邦审判开庭前约两周，他就持有伪造 DD-214 一项认罪。
联邦地区法官 Donald Coggins, Jr. 作出上述判决。联邦刑事系统没有假释。此案属司法部「儿童安全计划」（Project Safe Childhood）案件，由 FBI Columbia 外勤办公室与 Spartanburg 县警长办公室调查，助理联邦检察官 Bill Watkins 负责起诉。（来源：美国司法部南卡罗来纳区联邦检察官办公室）
Man Who Posed as Combat Veteran Sentenced to 109 Months for Stolen Valor and Child Sexual Abuse Material
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina announced that William Steven Wooten, 46, of Lexington, South Carolina, has been sentenced to 109 months in federal prison for stolen valor and possession of child sexual abuse material, to be followed by a 20-year term of court-ordered supervision. U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling announced the sentence. Wooten was convicted on the child sexual abuse charges by a federal jury earlier this year.
The FBI was conducting a stolen valor investigation related to Wooten's possession and use of a fraudulent Form DD-214, a military discharge document. Wooten purported to be a combat veteran and to have earned a Purple Heart; in truth, he had never served in the military. He used the fraudulent document in an effort to obtain employment and to convince a single mother that he was an upstanding citizen who could be trusted around her young children.
The FBI obtained a search warrant for Wooten's phone and discovered child sexual abuse material in addition to the fraudulent DD-214. FBI forensic examiners located 203 images depicting child sexual abuse, and search terms indicated Wooten was seeking images of young girls, including children being abused by adult males. Just eight months before the FBI found the material and the fraudulent document, Wooten had been found guilty in state court of criminal sexual conduct with a minor. About two weeks before his federal trial in February 2026, he pleaded guilty to possessing the fraudulent DD-214.
U.S. District Judge Donald Coggins, Jr. imposed the sentence. There is no parole in the federal system. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood and was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Watkins prosecuted the case. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina)
来源：美国司法部南卡罗来纳区联邦检察官办公室
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：联邦调查局总部大楼（GSM固定图库）。美国政府作品，公共领域。 / Photo: FBI headquarters (GSM file photo). U.S. government work, public domain.
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