Twin Cities Man Gets 19 Years For Child Pornography, Exploiting Minors Over Instagram

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities man was sentenced to 19 years in prison for producing, advertising and distributing child pornography.

The U.S. Attorney's Office District of Minnesota said that 22-year-old Derek Gerard Williams, of Plymouth, was sentenced Tuesday to 228 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

According to investigators, between November 2019 and March 2021, Williams used Instagram and various other platforms to exploit minors in the United States and across the world. He also used a virtual private network (VPN) or proxy services and coded language in an attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement.

In August, Williams pleaded guilty to counts of producing, advertising and distributing child pornography.