A State College man on Thursday received the maximum sentence for what federal prosecutors called sexually predatory behavior targeting autistic and nonverbal toddlers.
William S. Welsh, 29, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of producing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann also ordered that Welsh serve 10 years of supervised release after his confinement and register as a sex offender.
Ten other charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement entered on Thursday.
Welsh offered himself as a babysitter for at least three autistic toddlers in 2023 and was arrested in 2024 after telling a friend that he sexually abused a 2-year-old, according to court documents. He also said he had child pornography that he planned to delete.
A search of his electronic devices revealed at least 40 videos depicting child sexual abuse, according to prosecutors, along with 11 photographs taken by Welsh at his home while babysitting an autistic and nonverbal 3-year-old.
The of the toddlers he watched “reported numerous concerns related to Welsh’s babysitting,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Lloyd wrote in a presentencing memorandum. Those included one toddler resisted diaper changes after being babysat by Welsh and another “who reported being left alone for what felt like a ‘long time’ while playing ‘hide and seek’ with Welsh and her autistic, nonverbal brother,” according to the memorandum.
He denied specific sexual abuse of the children, but when asked by police if he photographed any of them, Welsh replied, “I cannot answer that question. I won’t answer that question . . . but there was never a physical mark on them, I made sure of that,” according to court records.
Welsh’s actions, Lloyd wrote, were “a manipulative and devious scheme to gain access to toddlers who are unable to communicate, i.e. report, his exploitative acts.”
According to the memorandum, Welsh was adjudicated delinquent and convicted of possession of child pornography at the age of 17, but because he was a minor at the time he was not required to register as a sex offender. He was subsequently committed to a residential sexual offender program where his stay was repeatedly extended for lack of progress, and patient and probation records showed that he was consistently “manipulative” and “dishonest,” Lloyd wrote.
He never completed the sex offender program after he was released on a petition for medical treatment, according to the memorandum. Lloyd urged that his sentence both “reflect the need for extensive rehabilitation” and protect public safety.
“Welsh positioned himself as a trustworthy guardian in order to target and exploit a particularly vulnerable class of persons – not just minors, but autistic and nonverbal toddlers,” Lloyd wrote. “…Welsh’s actions, together with the nonverbal characteristic of the toddlers he targeted, demonstrates his intention to continue and perpetuate a pattern of sexual abuse with impunity.”
Welsh’s attorney, Helen Stolinas, sought a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and wrote that he had several mitigating factors.
Adopted from Russia at the age of 1, Welsh was sexually abused by a babysitter from ages six through 13, Stolinas wrote. He had diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and functional neurological symptom disorder, she added.
“Despite these challenges, Mr. Welsh has demonstrated genuine remorse and acceptance of responsibility, including signing a plea agreement, consenting to a pre-plea presentence investigation, providing a detailed statement acknowledging his wrongdoing, and independently ordering and working through a sex offender treatment workbook,” Stolinas wrote.
Brann’s judgment recommended that Welsh serve his confinement at the Federal Medical Center at Rochester, Minnesota, a prison for inmates requiring long-term medical or mental health care. He also ordered that Welsh participate in mental health and sex offender-specific treatment.
