The former director of the Wahsega 4-H Center in Lumpkin County is once again free on bond.
Defense Attorney Catherine Bernard tells AccessWDUN Paul Travis Williams, 48 has been released on a $50,000 bond, after his re-arrest and additional charges of possessing child pornography. Williams had already posted a $10,000 bond.
Williams was originally arrested on October 12 for allegedly possessing one image, but was re-arrested on October 27 after UGA police said they discovered thousands more images.
Meantime, Bernard said Williams has complied with all instructions and conditions from the court and law enforcement since he was granted bond the first time. Bernard said while Williams awaits indictment, he is ordered to wear an ankle monitor while staying at his mother's home in Hawkinsville.
Bernard also alleges the lead investigator, when informing Williams of the first warrant on October 11, "specifically volunteered a promise that he wasn't going to 'play the game' of having Travis re-arrested on new warrants for the same charge as the investigation continued," Bernard stated.
"By starting that cycle again, it appears that the sheriff's office is attempting to try this case in the media before even making any evidence available to a grand jury or to Travis and his counsel," she added.
In the October 27 statement, the sheriff's office stated that forensic investigators are confident the images discovered are not recent and were not generated at the 4-H center or in Williams' residence there. It goes on to state that authorities don't believe any of the images involved 4-H campers.
Friends and family members attended the second bond hearing Wednesday and spoke favorably on Williams behalf, his attorney said. Williams has maintained since his initial arrest that he is not guilty of the crime and has no idea where the images came from.
AccessWDUN's Derreck Booth contributed to this story.
