Jonesborough man to spend 10 years in federal prison after sending explicit photos to undercover FBI agent posing as female minor

A Jonesborough man is set to spend the next ten years in federal prison after sending sexually explicit photos to an FBI agent he thought a 15-year old female minor.

William Charles Ellis, 51, pled guilty to enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, and following his prison term, he will have to register as a sex offender and spend 15 years on supervised release. He was sentenced in the case Wednesday in US District Court in Knoxville.

Ellis engaged with an undercover FBI agent on an online dating app in August of 2019, sending the agent explicit photos and asking the agent that was posing as a female minor to also send explicit photos and videos. Ellis later admitted to the act, and during a search of his phone, the FBI found numerous files containing child pornography.