BOSTON, Jan. 11, 2017—A Georgia man who worked with underage performers was sentenced to prison today after pleading guilty to secretly recording them in hotel rooms, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

WILLIAM H. ALLEN (D.O.B. 9/8/52) of Athens, Georgia, appeared in Suffolk Superior Court for sentencing today after pleading guilty to two counts each of secretly photographing sexual or intimate parts of a child and possession of child pornography.  Judge Mary Ames sentenced Allen to two years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation.  During that time, Allen is barred from residing or having unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 and from taking part in any employment or volunteer activity that would put him in contact with anyone under age 18.  He must also stay away and have no contact with his victims, undergo a psychiatric evaluation, and complete any treatment deemed necessary, including sex offender treatment.

William H. Allen, sentenced to two years in prison for secretly recording young performers in Boston hotel rooms

Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Nicole Poirier of the DA’s Human Trafficking and Exploitation Unit would have presented evidence and testimony to prove that Allen co-owned Cirque de la Symphonie – a company that provides performers to take part in musical performances – and used this position to gain access to and secretly capture nude and partially nude images of two performers under the age of 16.

“The defendant exploited a position of trust to secretly record two children in a state of undress,” Conley said. “He violated their trust, he violated their privacy, and he violated the law.”

On June 11, 2015, one of the victims traveled to Boston to take part in a stage performance through Allen’s company.  Allen met the victim at Logan International Airport and brought him to the Fairmont Copley Plaza, where Allen had already checked in to two hotel rooms – one for himself and one for the victim.  Allen, the evidence would have shown, had set up a hidden camera in the victim’s bedroom prior to the victim’s arrival.  Later, that night, the victim discovered went to Allen’s hotel room to discuss the performance schedule and observed images of his own room displayed on Allen’s laptop.

The victim contacted hotel security, who searched the room twice and discovered three wireless cameras hidden in smoke detectors throughout the bedroom and bathroom, prosecutors said.

Boston Police seized Allen’s electronic devices and discovered videos on his phone and laptop that depicted the victim in various states of undress.  One video had been captured at a different hotel room on a prior date, prosecutors said.

Investigators also discovered a video on Allen’s laptop and images on his phone of a second victim at a different hotel.  Boston Police were able to identify the victim as another underage performer who was similarly unaware that the video and photos had been taken.

Kate Lagana was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate.  Allen was represented by Stephen Neyman.

Anyone who wishes to report child sexual abuse, regardless of when the abuse occurred, should notify their local police department or, within Suffolk County, the DA’s Child Protection Unit at 617-619-4300

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.