Two Georgia Men Plead Guilty in Child Exploitation Case; Wife of One for Obstruction

ROME, Ga.—Three individuals, including a convicted sex offender, have pleaded guilty to federal charges of child enticement and evidence tampering, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.

The court proceedings, handled personally by U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, concluded on August 15, 2025.

According to information presented in court, one of the defendants, Christopher Michael Welcher, 45, a registered sex offender, was arrested on March 4, 2025. Welcher, who had been on post-release supervision for a 2016 conviction, was found to be exchanging sexually explicit text messages with an undercover law enforcement officer he believed was a 14-year-old girl. Welcher drove to Floyd County, Georgia, to meet the individual and was arrested upon arrival. A search of his cell phone uncovered hundreds of images of child sex abuse.

In a recorded phone call from the Floyd County Jail on March 12, Welcher and his wife, Connie Thompson, 52, discussed a plan for Thompson to destroy electronic devices at their home in Grantville, Georgia. By the time FBI agents executed a search warrant, Thompson had already smashed two digital storage drives and thrown them away.

In an unrelated case, William Eric Cooper, 45, of Bartow County, was arrested by FBI agents. Between February 6 and February 24, 2025, Cooper exchanged over 1,000 chat messages with a 15-year-old child, directing her to engage in sexually explicit conduct and send him images and videos. He promised to help her run away from home. A search of Cooper’s devices revealed a sexually explicit video of the 15-year-old and more than 250 images and videos depicting other minors.

Welcher and Cooper pleaded guilty to child enticement charges. Welcher faces a maximum of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years, along with an additional five-year mandatory minimum for violating his supervised release. Thompson pleaded guilty to evidence tampering and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years. There is no parole in the federal system.

Sentencing for the three defendants is scheduled for November 21, 2025, before United States District Judge William M. Ray, II. The cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from several local law enforcement agencies.