A federal grand jury has indicted William Foster Alger, a 75-year-old resident of Hagerstown, Maryland. He faces charges including seven counts of sexual exploitation of a child, three counts of coercion and enticement of a child, and five counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.
The indictment was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Colonel Paul Joey Kifer, Chief of Police at the Hagerstown Police Department (HPD), and Washington County State’s Attorney Gina Cirincion.
According to the indictment details, between November 2023 and December 2024, Alger allegedly persuaded three minor females to engage in sexually explicit conduct for creating and transmitting child sexual abuse material. He is also accused of enticing these minors into prohibited sexual activities and possessing such material on an internet-based account as well as four digital devices.
If convicted on all charges, Alger could face severe penalties. Each count related to sexual exploitation carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years with potential maximums reaching up to 30 years in federal prison. For coercion and enticement charges, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years with possible life imprisonment per count. Possession charges carry up to 20 years each.
Federal sentences often fall below maximum penalties after judicial consideration based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines among other factors.
It is important to note that an indictment does not equate to guilt; individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty through due process.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating resources across various levels to prosecute offenders while rescuing victims.
U.S. Attorney Barron acknowledged contributions from HSI, HPD along with Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office towards this investigation effort; Assistant U.S Attorney Paul E Budlow will be prosecuting this federal case further.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood or Internet safety education resources visit www.justice.gov/psc or explore available options under "Resources" tab online respectively.