Previous offender charged with dozens of sex crime offenses in Lexington, records show

A registered sex offender in Lexington was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center Wednesday afternoon on dozens of charges related to sexual activity with a minor, according to court and jail records.

William Wehking, 35, has been charged with 25 counts of possessing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor and one count of distributing obscene matter to minors, use of a minor in a sexual performance and procuring or promoting the use of a minor in a sexual performance, according to jail records. He’s being held on a $50,000 bond.

According to his arrest citation, Wehking knowingly engaged in sexual conversations with a 12-year-old girl. The Lexington Police Department became aware of the activity after being tipped off by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois, where the victim resides.

Wehking and the victim communicated over Snapchat and text messaging, according to court documents. Investigators got a search warrant for his cell phone and found 25 images and/or videos of minors under the age of 12 engaging in sexual activity.

Wehking admitted to the illegal behavior as well as exposing his genitals to the victim in a video chat, according court documents.

Wehking is on Kentucky the sex offender registry after being convicted of sexual abuse in Illinois, according to Kentucky State Police’s sex offender registry. His victim was 16 years old, according to the registry. Wehking wasn’t compliant with the Kentucky sex offender registry because his address wasn’t verified, according to state records.

Wehking is scheduled to appear in court on his new charges Thursday afternoon, according to court records.