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 court proceedings took place on August 15, 2025, with U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg personally overseeing the case.
“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.”
Court records show that Christopher Welcher, previously convicted in 2016 for distributing images depicting child sexual abuse and having served over six years in prison, communicated via text messages with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl on March 4, 2025. Welcher expressed interest in engaging in sexual activity with someone he believed was underage and arranged a meeting near a public high school in Floyd County, where he was arrested by police upon arrival. A search of his cell phone revealed hundreds of images involving child sexual abuse.
While detained at Floyd County Jail on March 12, 2025, Welcher called his wife Connie Thompson about destroying electronic devices at their home that contained prohibited material. Despite an expedited search warrant executed by the FBI at Thompson’s Grantville residence, two digital storage drives had already been destroyed and discarded but were later recovered by law enforcement.
Separately, William Eric Cooper from Bartow County was arrested after exchanging more than 1,000 messages between February 6 and February 24, 2025 with a minor identified as a ninth grader. The communications included requests for sexually explicit conduct and media from the child in exchange for promises to help her run away from home. Searches of Cooper’s seized devices uncovered explicit content involving minors.
Welcher and Cooper each face enticement charges carrying up to life imprisonment with mandatory minimum sentences of ten years; Welcher also faces an additional five-year minimum sentence due to supervised release violations. Thompson could receive up to twenty years’ imprisonment for evidence tampering offenses; parole is not available under federal law.
Sentencing hearings are scheduled before Judge William M. Ray II on November 21, 2025.
The investigation involved cooperation among 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.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg and Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin A. Leipold III are prosecuting these cases.
This prosecution forms part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in February 2006—to protect children from online exploitation by coordinating resources across federal, state and local levels (more information available at www.projectsafechildhood.gov). Details about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
