A 53-year-old man will spend decades behind bars after pleading guilty to charges connected to the sexual exploitation of children.
The United States Attorney’s Office of Southern Ohio press release stated that William Scott Elam, of Middletown, presented himself as a 14-year-old boy to gain the trust of young girls between 10 and 16 years old.
Elam preyed on the “vulnerable,” those young girls who “engage in self-harm, have body issues, or have other social issues,” the press releases stated.
He started relationships with girls from seven different states over the course of approximately four years. He convinced the victims to send nudes, participate in online sexual acts, and even to harm themselves, according to the press release.
Elam convinced one victim to perform sexual acts for him online live by telling her he was going to harm himself. He talked another victim into harming herself live on video after learning she had ongoing issues with self-harming.
Elam coerced many girls into doing what he wanted with threats of publicly releasing nudes of them that he had collected. Reportedly, he pretended to be a teen relative in his blackmailing scheme, according to a press release.
“It is alleged that Elam also pretended to be a 14-year-old cousin to his other persona,” the release stated. “Using the second persona, he allegedly coerced the victim into sending new live sexual content by threatening to show “his cousin’s mom” her previous encounters with Elam.”
U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II described Elam as a cowardly predator who hides and seeks the weak.
“Predators like Elam hide behind a computer screen while preying on vulnerable children,” Gerace said. “But the damage they do is real, and so is the time they’ll spend in federal prison for it.”
Elam was arrested in October 2023 and pleaded guilty in July 2025.
On November 20, he received a sentence of 26 years in federal prison for 10 counts of coercion and enticement and one count of sexual exploitation of children.
