A Midlands man who officials say posed as a combat veteran is going to prison for child sex crime charges and stolen valor. 46 year old, William Steven Wooten of Lexington was convicted on those charges, earlier this year.
The U.S. Department of Justice says, the FBI investigated Wooten for stolen valor and found that he used a fake military discharge document. He also claimed to have been a Purple Heart recipient and a combat veteran, which officials say are false claims. Court records show that Wooten never even served in the military.
The U.S. Department of Justice reports that Wooten used the fraudulent document in an effort to get a job and to convince a single mother that he was an upstanding citizen who could be trusted around her young children.
The FBI later found child sexual abuse material on Wooten's phone. Wooten had been found guilty on a charge of criminals sexual conduct with a minor in state court just weeks prior to being arrested on federal charges. Wooten has been sentenced to 9 years in federal prison. There's no parole in the federal system.
