McCaughan Jr. sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison in child pornography case

Once-respected attorney William McCaughan Jr., whose crimes against children shattered Key Biscayne's image as an idyllic place, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison by a federal judge on Wednesday.

There were no statements from the juvenile victims or their families, nor were they even mentioned by the defense. It was McCaughan Jr.'s job to address his victims.

“I want to apologize to the families of all the victims,” ​​said a gaunt McCaughan Jr., wearing a tan prison gown and slippers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Abbie Waxman criticized the judge for opening the hearing by describing the crimes as an “episode.” McCaughan Jr.'s behavior had dragged on for years. In defense of her request for a 20-year prison sentence, she said, “The allegation that the defendant was searching for child pornography while under the influence of alcohol and drugs is offensive.”

“Maybe I got a little carried away,” said U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz II. The judge also sentenced McCaughan Jr. to 15 years of probation with numerous restrictions, including the use of a computer. McCaughan Jr. must also register as a sex offender.

Family, friends and business leaders wrote letters asking for leniency, mostly expressing dismay at the nature of the charges and the fact that they were so different from the person they knew. About two dozen family members and friends attended the two-hour hearing.

“Billy was teased, bullied, beaten and made to feel like an outsider at every turn in elementary and high school from his first day at school – and all this before he told anyone he was gay,” wrote childhood friend Frederick Hasty.

But after the hearing, where Hasty also testified, he said he regretted defending McCaughan Jr. after Waxman detailed the crimes. She said a picture found on McCaughan Jr.'s phone showed a baby she said was sexually abused.

Frank E. Mackle III, president of the Mackle Company, which built many of the homes on the island, expressed his support for the McCaughan family.

“Billy is the eldest child of an excellent Miami family,” Mackle wrote. “Billy was raised as a good Catholic,[d] good Christian values.”

Also present in court was Luis de la Cruz, a former council member, one of 17 who wrote a letter to the judge.

“I will not try to understand how he went down the wrong path,” de la Cruz wrote. “But I pray to God that he serves his sentence and can one day somehow become a productive member of our society.”

Family members testified to McCaughan's privileged upbringing: He attended St. Agnes Academy, fished at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, became a high school golf champion and eventually attended Notre Dame and Georgetown University Law School. He clerked for a federal appellate judge and eventually became a prosecutor in Naples before entering private practice.

Records show McCaughan came onto the FBI's radar after he stole a picture of a 12-year-old Texas girl from a man on the social media app Kik who had secretly photographed the girl coming out of the shower.

An undercover agent contacted McCaughan Jr., who was working at the time for the Morgan Law Group in Coral Gables. According to court documents, the attorney used sensationalist language to try to get more child sexual abuse material for his case.

Following his arrest on two child pornography charges on July 28, 2023, agents said a search of McCaughan Jr.'s Key Biscayne home revealed that the attorney had abused two teenagers, ages 14 and 16. He was accused of luring them into sending explicit images over the phone. Four additional charges were filed against him.

McCaughan admitted in his guilty plea to one count of creating graphic depictions of sexual exploitation of a minor, a crime that carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. A summary of evidence filed in court on May 25 is too profane to print because McCaughan Jr. used explicit language toward one of the teens, but at one point he said he wanted to “deprave” him sexually.

Defense attorney David Rothman argued for the minimum sentence and referred to his client's mental state as well as his “otherwise good character and previous good deeds.”

In 2015, McCaughan served as a member of the Young Leaders Board at Camillus House, a homeless shelter in Miami.

“The last time he volunteered for the Young Leaders Board was approximately two weeks before his arrest,” Rothman wrote in a court document.

A few weeks after McCaughan's arrest was announced, a well-known gymnastics coach on Key Biscayne was accused of sexually abusing two of his students.

Oscar Olea is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty.

The back-to-back sex cases sent worried parents – and those who tried to exploit their fears in social media chats – into a frenzy that rocked the entire island.

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