ORLANDO, Fla. — The former leader of Bahia Shrine in Central Florida was recently sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for child porn.
- William Trey Rapp was potentate, or top leader, of Bahia Shriners
- Rapp pleaded guilty in October, faced as much as 20 years in prison
- Investigators found more than 600 illegal images on his computers
- RELATED: Orlando-Area Bahia Shrine Ex-Leader Guilty in Child-Porn Case
William Trey Rapp faced U.S. District Court Judge Carlos E. Mendoza in a federal courtroom in Orlando on Thursday. The judge sentenced Rapp to serve 136 months in federal prison.
Rapp must serve five years of supervised release after leaving prison, the judge's order said. He must participate in sexual-offender, mental-health treatment and register as a sex offender.
Federal prosecutors said in a criminal complaint that a download of child porn June 17 was detected by the FBI. They traced it to Rapp.
One of the videos showed a man attacking a 5-year-old girl, authorities say.
Rapp cooperated when investigators with a search warrant went to his house at 7 a.m. July 18 and asked about his online activities.
He said he couldn’t recall when he began viewing child porn but said his attraction to children began when he was a child and “it never left him.”
Rapp had about 600 images, according to his plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography.
He faced as much as 20 years in prison for that charge. The plea agreement dismissed two other child-porn charges.
Rapp was once known as Illustrious Sir William Trey Rapp of the Bahia Shrine. He was a potentate, or top leader, of the group.
The Bahia Shrine in Central Florida said Rapp was no longer with the group when the charges against him became public in July. That Shrine, located in Apopka, has roughly 2,300 members in Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties.
The Bahia Shriners, a charitable organization, is part of an international nonprofit dedicated to helping families and children, especially young burn victims. Shriners International also supports Shriners Hospitals for Children, a health system with 22 locations.