Seattle Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Child Sexual Exploitation Offenses

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “Tallahassee, Florida – Willard Lawrence Gibson, 48 of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced in federal court to 30 years in federal prison for one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children, one count of attempted enticement of a minor, one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor, and one count of distribution of child pornography. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This successful prosecution and substantial prison sentence were made possible thanks to the outstanding investigative work of our state and federal law enforcement partners who are zealously pursuing sexual predators, like this defendant, wherever they lurk to keep our kids safe from exploitation and victimization. My office is firmly committed to aggressively prosecuting these horrific crimes to ensure our kids are safe both online and in our communities.” Court documents reflect that in July 2025, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and other state and federal law enforcement agencies conducted an undercover operation focused on identifying individuals using the internet to sexually exploit children. During that operation, the defendant began communicating through a social media platform with an undercover officer posing as a child, and the conversation later moved to text messaging. During their interactions, the defendant sent the undercover officer two images of child sexua”