Coweta County sex offender pleads guilty alongside two others in federal child enticement cases

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 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 for distributing images of child sexual abuse in 2016 and having served over six years in prison, communicated sexually explicit messages with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl on March 4, 2025. Welcher encouraged the supposed minor to skip school so they could meet for sexual activity—a crime that would qualify as aggravated child molestation under state law—and was arrested when he arrived at the arranged location near a public high school in Floyd County. Authorities found hundreds of images depicting child sexual abuse on his phone.

While detained at Floyd County Jail on March 12, Welcher called his wife Connie Thompson about destroying electronic devices at their home in Grantville containing illegal material—an act which she carried out before agents arrived with a search warrant; damaged storage drives were recovered but could not be repaired.

In an unrelated incident about one week later, William Eric Cooper from Bartow County was arrested after exchanging more than 1,000 chat messages—many sexual—with a person he believed was a 15-year-old girl between February 6 and February 24, 2025. Cooper instructed her to produce explicit content and promised help running away; searches of his devices uncovered sexually explicit media involving minors.

Welcher and Cooper each face up to life imprisonment with mandatory minimum sentences of ten years for enticement charges; Welcher also faces an additional five-year minimum sentence due to violating supervised release conditions. Thompson faces up to twenty years for evidence tampering related offenses; there is no parole available under federal sentencing guidelines.

Sentencing hearings are set for November 21, 2025 before United States District Judge William M. Ray II.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Georgia Bureau of Investigation led these investigations with support from several local agencies including Rome/Floyd Metro Drug Task Force and sheriff’s offices across multiple counties.

Prosecution is being handled by U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin A Leipold III.

These prosecutions fall under Project Safe Childhood—a Department of Justice initiative started in February 2006 aimed at combating online exploitation of children through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local authorities nationwide (more information can be found at http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov).

For further details or inquiries contact the Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404)581-6185; additional resources are available via http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.