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NASCAR PR pleads guilty to this...

As part of plea agreement, Richard Norman "Chip" Williams, the former NASCAR spokesman who has been jailed since being arrested and charged in January, has plead guilty to three sexual offenses: sexual abuse of a minor, enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and sexual exploitation of a child.  All counts stem from Williams' relationship with one minor.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Greensboro, N.C., says he faces 15 to 30 years in federal prison and will be sentenced in April.  According to the plea agreement, the law requires him to serve at least five years on the enticement of a minor charge and at least 15 years on the sexual exploitation charge.

Williams was investigated by the Guilford County Sheriff's Office, the Greensboro Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  In February, he was also charged by Guilford County and is scheduled to appear Feb. 20 in Guilford County Superior Court on those charges.

Williams was NASCAR's spokesman from 1982-1994 before operating the now defunct Williams Co. of America, which handled public relations for Petty Enterprises, Bobby Labonte, Derrick Cope, John Andretti among others.

NASCAR PR arrested for this...

Racing publicist "Chip" Williams arrested on child sex charges

(AP, Jan. 31, 2006) - A well-known NASCAR publicist was arrested Tuesday and charged with statutory rape and soliciting a minor for sex over the Internet, authorities said.

Richard Norman "Chip" Williams Jr. of Mooresville was arrested in the parking lot of a Guilford County church where he had arranged to meet what he believed was a 14-year-old girl with whom he had been conversing in an Internet chat room, Sheriff B.J. Barnes said. Instead, he ended up the target of a sting.

Williams' firm, Williams Company of America, Inc., handles media and public relations for drivers Kyle Petty, Bobby Labonte, Derrike Cope and John Andretti, among others. Williams also formerly worked for NASCAR, where he handled public relations for the top-level Winston Cup racing series.

Barnes said investigators targeted Williams after receiving information about a four-year sexual relationship between the publicist and a now-15-year-old girl from Guilford County.

Williams is charged with first-degree sex offense with a child and statutory rape sex offense - both stemming from the alleged relationship with the 15-year-old - and solicitation of a child by computer to commit a sex offense, Barnes said.

He was being held at the Guilford County Jail on a bond of $1 million and Barnes said he expects additional charges.

When The Associated Press called the jail to confirm Williams' presence there, a jailer agreed to rely a request to Williams seeking a statement or the name of his lawyer. Williams declined to respond to the question.

"I think there's a lot more involvement, from things we got from the Internet," Barnes said. "Basically, we feel he has probably been involved with more than one person."

Update 2.8.06: NASCAR publicist's Internet soliciting case may include 50 kids; 'Hogwash,' lawyer says