Former NASCAR Publicist Sentenced On Child Sex Charges

Monday, July 9th 2007, 5:44 pm

By: News On 6

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) _ A former NASCAR publicist pleaded guilty Monday to several charges, including statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a child, for his relationship with a young girl.

Richard Norman ``Chip'' Williams, 50, of Mooresville, already is serving a 26-year prison sentence on federal charges that he had a sexual relationship with a girl who was 11 years old when they met online in 2002.

Williams pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of first-degree sexual offense, one count of statutory rape and three counts of taking indecent liberties with a child, authorities said.

He was sentenced to between 20 years and 24 years and nine months, to run concurrently with the federal sentence. Williams will get credit for nearly a year he spent in the Guilford County jail.

The federal charges involved an incident in February 2003, when he had sex with the girl at the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. A sting managed by the Guilford County Sheriff's Office resulted in his arrest in January 2006.

Prosecutors charged Williams with using a computer to entice a child into sexual activity, coercing a minor into sexual activity for the purpose of making pornography and having sex with a minor.

Williams is a former publicist for NASCAR's top series. Before his arrest, he and his wife co-owned a public relations firm that represented several NASCAR drivers.