K.G. man gets time in child porn case

By KEITH EPPS

A King George man will serve at least five years in prison and face government scrutiny for the rest of his life because of his fetish for child pornography.

William Edward Pitt Jr., 70, pleaded guilty Friday in King George Circuit Court to 71 counts of possessing child pornography and one count of distributing it. He was sentenced to 360 years in prison with all but five years suspended. He will also serve another five years on electronic monitoring.

Pitt’s sentence also calls for him to be on probation for the rest of his life and to never have access to the Internet or to anyone under 18. Following his release from prison, he will take a lie detector test every six months. If he fails one, Commonwealth’s Attorney Matt Britton said, Pitt would immediately be put back in prison. He also owes about $30,000 in court costs and will have to register as a sex offender.

According to Britton, Pitt came to the attention of state police in 2010 during a routine investigation into illegal child pornography websites. The former employee at the Naval Support Facility Dahlgren was identified as a regular viewer and distributor of child pornography, and eventually a search warrant was executed at his home on Eden Drive.

Britton said dozens of images were recovered from Pitt’s computer depicting sexual acts involving children, some as young as 3 years old. Pitt was interviewed by police and admitted viewing the child porn, Britton said. Britton said the investigation revealed no evidence that Pitt ever physically molested any children.

“People who think they’re anonymous on the Internet should think again,” Britton said.

Keith Epps: 540/374-5404

kepps@freelancestar.com

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