Man sentenced for child porn crimes.

Byline: BILL BISHOP The Register-Guard

A former family therapist who worked in Eugene and was caught in an undercover Internet child pornography sting was sentenced Friday in federal court in New York to five years and 10 months in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography.

Bill Wolf, 58, was arrested in January after federal undercover agents working in New York charged that he transmitted digital images of juveniles and adults having sex. The agents were able to trace the transmissions from an online chat room, where Wolf logged on as "sickperv1," to Wolf's home in Eugene, according to court records.

Wolf pleaded guilty to the charge in June in a plea deal where federal prosecutors dropped a second charge of distributing pornography and one count of trying to persuade a child to travel interstate to engage in sexual activity.

Wolf, who has 45 days to report to prison to begin the sentence, said in a telephone interview Monday that he deserves the punishment and accepts it.

"I've done a terrible thing," he said. "I supported child abuse during the time I received and distributed child pornography."

Wolf's lawyer, Dan Koenig of Eugene, said Wolf lived a fantasy in front of his computer but never took steps to actually contact any young girls.

"He is a person who was addicted to this fantasy. Like a drug user, he was destroying his own life," Koenig said in court papers. He said Wolf admitted that he traded child pornography over the Internet, but never sold any for financial gain.

Koenig said the federal investigation found no evidence that Wolf ever had inappropriate physical contact with any child. He said Wolf has "a sincere and exemplary desire for rehabilitation," and has been in counseling and attending Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings since his arrest.

In court documents, a federal Secret Service agent with the New York Electronic Crimes Task Force reported that Wolf logged on in chat rooms on 16 occasions in a six-month period beginning in July 2001. He reportedly started conversations with agents who posed as four separate girls ages 12 and 13.

In addition to transmitting child pornography, Wolf also reportedly sent a nude photo of himself and asked the agents to trade pedophile videos with him. Wolf also described specific sadistic acts he wanted to perform on young girls, according to court records.

Agents also reported Wolf attempted to arrange a meeting with an agent posing as a 12-year-old girl at a time he would be traveling in New York. On another occasion, Wolf reportedly asked one of the "girls" to come to California, where she could pose as his daughter when they rented a hotel room, according to a sworn statement by agent Michael Stone of the U.S. Secret Service.

None of the court documents indicate Wolf had any illegal physical contact with minors or that he took any photographs of young people who were his clients at Looking Glass Youth & Family Services.

Wolf worked for the nonprofit agency for 17 years, most recently with child drug users, and was fired after criminal charges were filed against him.

The Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists also revoked his counseling license, ruling that he poses a serious danger to any girls he might work with as a counselor.

Wolf said Monday that he regrets his actions, is ashamed and is offering no excuses. He said he apologized publicly during his court hearing to the community and to those whose trust he betrayed.