An online predator, Richard Billingsley, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison and lifetime supervised probation for the sexual exploitation of minors online.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, in August 2025, Goodyear Police received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a user who had uploaded child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to Discord, an online messaging platform. Police identified the user as the defendant.
During a search of the defendant’s devices, officers found more than 3,400 CSAM files. Additionally, detectives learned that over the course of several months, Billingsley groomed and coerced three minor victims into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos. He would contact victims on Roblox before convincing them to move the conversations to Discord. The victims were 12 and 13 years old and lived in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Texas.
“I commend the Goodyear Police Department for locating the victims and sex crimes prosecutor William Heydenreich for holding this defendant accountable,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Thanks to their work, this predator was stopped before he could cause further harm.”
Billingsley pleaded guilty to one count of Sexual Exploitation of Minor, a Class Two Felony and Dangerous Crime Against Children; and two counts of Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a Class Three Felony and Dangerous Crime Against Children.
“Online predators are master manipulators and relentless in their search of a victim to exploit,” said Mitchell. “Grooming can happen on any app where you can send messages. To protect their kids, parents need to talk often about online dangers and regularly check the devices their child is using.”
Be the first to comment