Las Vegas photographer pleads guilty in child porn scheme

A Las Vegas photographer who possessed more than a million sexually explicit images of children pleaded guilty Monday to child exploitation and pornography charges.

William Clyde Thompson, 58, who posed as a professional modeling photographer and sports sponsor and lured children with scholarship promises, was indicted in 2013 in Nevada and two years later in Arizona.

He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, according to court records.

Federal prosecutors said in a news release that Thompson admitted that he had taken sexually explicit photos and videos of a 10-year-old boy and later introduced the child, a skateboarder, to a “potential sponsor.”

A year later, that sponsor told the victim’s mother that the boy may have been exploited, and she reported Thompson to Las Vegas police, according to the news release.

Investigators found more than 10,000 files of child sexual exploitation photos and videos.

Thompson fled Nevada while facing charges in Clark County District Court before federal charges were filed against him.

He was arrested in January 2015, and authorities found more than a million images of several victims on his digital devices, according to the news release. He created multiple websites to distribute the images.

While on the lam, Thompson contacted at least six boys in the spring and summer of 2014 at the Needles Skate Park in California, claiming to be a “scooter sponsor” and plying the boys with gifts, according to the release.

“In reality, Thompson and others recruited the ‘team’ with the intention to produce child pornography and to sexually abuse the boys,” the news release stated.

Thompson faces nearly 30 years in prison with a lifetime term of supervised release. His sentencing is scheduled for May 28.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.