Police job applicant gets 20 years in child pornography case

A 39-year-old man who admitted on a San Diego Police Department job application that he had viewed child pornography, sparking a law enforcement investigation that found more than 600 images on his computer, was sentenced Friday to 20 years in federal prison.

Robert Lee Williams, a massage therapist, was convicted in June of possession of child pornography.

In April 2011, Williams admitted on a pre-employment questionnaire to be a police officer that he had viewed child pornography, according to evidence submitted during a trial in San Diego federal court.

Williams' admission was the basis of an investigation by the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which includes the FBI, the U.S. attorney, the district attorney's offices in Riverside and San Diego counties, and several local police departments.

A search warrant was served on Williams' home in San Diego, with agents seizing a computer and two external hard drives.

Along with 20 years in federal prison, Williams was also sentenced by District Judge Roger Benitez to a lifetime of supervised release after he leaves prison.

--Tony Perry in San Diego