He’s also charged with producing child sexual abuse material.
William Foster Alger (Photo from Hagerstown Police Department)
Baltimore, Md (KM) A federal grand jury has indicted a Hagerstown man for sexually exploiting a minor, and producing child sexual material. The US Attorney Office for Maryland says William Foster Alger, 75, is charged with seven counts of sexual exploitation of a child, three counts of coercion of a child and five counts of producing child sexual abuse material.
The indictment alleges that between November, 2023, and December, 2024, Alger persuaded, induced and coerced three girls to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing and transmitting child sexual abuse material. Federal prosecutors also say Alger is alleged to have enticed the minors to engage in prohibited sexual conduct. He also possessed child sexual abuse material on an internet-based account and four digital devices.
If convicted, the US Attorney’s Office says Alger could face a mandatory minimum of 15 years to a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for each of the seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He could also be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of ten years and up to a maximum of life imprisonment for each of the three counts of coercion and enticement of a child. Also, Alger could be sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for each of the four counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A US District Court Judge will determine sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
According to Hagerstown Police, on November 1st, 2024, a man entered the Boost Mobile store at 1013 Maryland Avenue to have his cell phone repaired. While doing the repairs, employees noticed pictures of nude girls who appeared to be adolescents on the customer’s phone. Police were contacted.
Hagerstown Police detectives say they learned that the suspect, identified as Alger, had foreign connections and they believed the images were taken in Ecuador. Authorities contacted the Department of Homeland Security to assist in this investigation. Both agencies served a search warrant on Alger’s home in the 1200 block of Virginia Avenue, where they found numerous electronic devices, police say
Alger was taken into custody .
Due to the international nature of this case, the Department of Justice adopted the case which led to Alger being indicted by a federal grand jury.
By Kevin McManus