Shipyard heir gets 12 years for child porn in plea deal

NORFOLK

Shipyard heir Willoughby W. Colonna IV gave up his fight against federal child pornography charges on Thursday, pleading guilty to one felony count and receiving a 12-year prison term.

Colonna, 28, pleaded guilty to transporting child pornography over the Internet. He specifically admitted advertising four videos depicting girls 4 to 6 years old and 8 to 10 years old performing various sex acts.

"Are these facts true?" U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar asked Colonna.

"Yes, sir," he replied.

Colonna, who goes by Billy and is the grandson of the owner of Colonna's Shipyard, gave up his long-standing challenge to a federal indictment. He shaved five years off his prison time by pleading guilty and avoiding a trial.

The FBI was led to Colonna when an agent in Buffalo, N.Y., traced child porn images on a file-sharing Web site to Colonna's computer.

About two dozen FBI agents raided Colonna's Chesapeake home in 2004, seizing his computer and questioning him about his Internet activity. After a lengthy forensics search of his computer, Colonna was indicted and arrested in 2006.

A search of the computer files uncovered 400 videos depicting prepubescent children in sexually explicit scenes, according to an indictment against Colonna. The FBI said he downloaded files and advertised some on the Internet.

But a federal appeals court this winter overturned the conviction after ruling that the FBI violated Colonna's rights by its show of force and by failing to read him his Miranda warnings when they questioned him in 2004.

He was released on $250,000 bond in February after serving a little less than two years in custody from the time of his arrest.

In sentencing Colonna Thursday, Doumar ordered that he undergo a psychosexual evaluation to determine if treatment is necessary and the judge also gave him 10 years of probation after his release.

In reaching the plea deal, the U.S. attorney's office agreed not to prosecute Colonna's father and other family members on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. Prosecutors said in court papers that the family members lied on the witness stand at Colonna's original trial and other court proceedings.

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com