Three individuals, including a registered sex offender under post-release supervision, have pleaded guilty to federal child enticement and evidence tampering charges in the Northern District of Georgia. The proceedings were led by U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
“Protecting children from sexual predators is among the highest priorities for law enforcement at every level,” said U.S. Attorney Hertzberg. “In northwest Georgia, state and local officers collaborate closely with federal agents to keep our kids safe. My office is fully committed to supporting their efforts, and, while I serve as United States Attorney, I will continue to prosecute these important cases personally.”
“These crimes are especially disturbing. Those who engage in child exploitation will be held accountable for their conduct,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “The FBI will remain vigilant and continue our active role to ensure children are protected and justice is sought for victims.”
“The GBI remains dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities and ensuring offenders face justice,” said Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey. “We will continue working alongside our partners to safeguard children from those who seek to exploit them. These guilty pleas send a clear message: those who prey on children will be held accountable.”
According to information presented in court, Christopher Welcher, previously convicted for distributing images of child sexual abuse in 2016 and released after serving more than six years in prison, communicated with an undercover officer he believed was a 14-year-old girl on March 4, 2025. Welcher encouraged the minor to skip school for sexual activity that would qualify as aggravated child molestation under Georgia law. He was arrested when he arrived at the meeting location near a public high school in Floyd County, where police also seized his cell phone containing hundreds of images depicting child sexual abuse.
While detained at Floyd County Jail on March 12, 2025, Welcher called his wife Connie Thompson and discussed destroying electronic devices at their Grantville home that contained illegal material violating his supervised release conditions. Thompson destroyed two digital storage drives before agents could search the residence; although law enforcement recovered the damaged items from the trashcan, they could not be repaired.
In an unrelated case about a week later, William Eric Cooper of Bartow County was arrested after exchanging over 1,000 chat messages between February 6 and February 24, 2025 with a person he believed was a 15-year-old girl who identified herself as a ninth grader early in their conversation. Cooper instructed her to engage in sexually explicit conduct and provide him with images or videos in exchange for promises to meet her in North Carolina and help her run away from home. A search of Cooper’s devices revealed sexually explicit material involving minors.
Welcher and Cooper each face up to life imprisonment with mandatory minimum sentences of ten years; Welcher also faces an additional five-year mandatory minimum term for violating supervised release conditions. Thompson faces up to twenty years imprisonment for evidence tampering related offenses; there is no parole available under federal law.
Sentencing hearings are scheduled for November 21, 2025 before United States District Judge William M. Ray II.
The investigations involved multiple agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Rome/Floyd Metro Drug Task Force, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, Paulding County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Police Department, and Grantville Police Department.
Prosecution is being handled by U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg and Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin A. Leipold III.
These cases fall under Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in February 2006 aimed at protecting children from online exploitation by coordinating resources across all levels of government (more information can be found at http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov).
Further details are available through the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office or on their website: http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
