HOUSTON – A local man received 80 years in prison following his convictions of sexual exploitation of a child, distribution and possession of child pornography.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

William Lee Niver, 49, of Houston, was sentenced Feb. 17 by U.S. District Judge Gray Miller to 360 months in prison for the sexual exploitation of a child, otherwise known as production of child pornography. He also received 240 months for each of two distribution charges as well as another 120 months for possessing child pornography. The sentences will run consecutively for a total of 960 months in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system. He pleaded guilty June 14, 2016.

During the hearing, the court heard from the victim about how being sexually assaulted, psychologically abused and manipulated into situations to meet Niver’s deviant sexually-perverse needs has impacted her life. She indicated that from the time she was eight years old until the age of 14, the abuse consumed her life. “He touched every inch of my body, both with and without my consent, performed oral sex on me, coerced me into performing oral sex on him, engaged in vaginal and anal intercourse with me and encouraged me to have sex with a good female friend of mine. This man, who had been my hero since the day I was born, gave me innumerable excuses for his behavior, scrambled for proof of his intrinsic morality, told me how beautiful and intelligent I was and how I had to understand that I was impossible to resist.”

The government told the court that instead of receiving Barbie dolls and books, Niver gave the victim vibrators and showed her pornography.

In determining the sentence, Judge Miller noted the substantial harm done to victim and said this was one of the saddest cases ever to come before him.

Niver first came to the attention of law enforcement after he sent images of child pornography, including the victim who appeared in court, to an undercover agent. Federal agents executed a search warrant at Niver’s residence and performed a forensic examination on his computer which resulted in the discovery of more than 6,000 images and 1,000 videos of young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images included children under age 12, bondage and acts of violence. Some of the images are of known victims as identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

At the time of the plea, Niver admitted to taking sexually explicit photographs and a video of a minor female relative and emailing them to others.

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Ann Leo and Carrie A. Wirsing, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.