Man who used computer skills to sabotage SC chicken processing plant pleads guilty

A 52-year-old man who threatened public health by using a remote cellphone linkup to sabotage food cleaning at a Sumter chicken processing plant pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Columbia.

William Jason Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized computer access before U.S. Judge Cameron McGowan Currie. The charge carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. Five other similar counts were dropped.

Taylor was a “disgruntled” former senior electronics customer service support employee of ChemStation, a national company that provides chemical cleaning systems for various chicken processing plants, federal prosecutor Winston Holliday told Currie on Wednesday in describing the case.

In his position, Taylor was responsible for installing and maintaining remote chemical cleaning dosing systems at various plants in South Carolina and Georgia, including the Pilgrim’s Pride chicken processing plant in Sumter, Holliday said.

The chemicals that Taylor controlled were used in cleaning chicken carcasses, and too little or too much of certain chemicals could harm humans, Holliday said.

After Taylor separated from his company in May 2023, he used his knowledge of the remotely-controlled chemical dosing system to access Pilgrim’s Pride chicken processing plant in Sumter through a cellular entry point and proceeded to change the amounts of certain sanitizing chemicals in such a way that threatened humans, Holliday said.

Taylor also turned off alarm systems that would have alerted the company to the incorrect sanitation levels, and he changed email addresses of those who would have been sent notifications about the dosing changes, Holliday said.

The two chemicals whose dosages Taylor adjusted were peracetic acid and sodium hydroxide, which are “hazardous chemicals that pose a health risk to humans, both in their under- and over-application,” according to an indictment in the case.

Holliday said too high a dose of peracetic acid causes fumes that pose a threat, and too low a dose causes the chickens to not be cleaned thoroughly.

Currie asked, “So they were not as clean as they should have been?”

“Right,” replied Holliday.

There may be restitution associated with the case but the affected companies have not yet made any statements about the dollar value of any damage Taylor caused.

Currie set sentencing for Taylor on Oct. 29.

Taylor and his lawyer, James Zachary Farr, had no comment to reporters as they left the courthouse.

Taylor is free on a $25,000 unsecured bond.

He has expressed remorse for his actions, Holliday told the judge.

The FBI and the federal Environmental Protection Agency investigated the case.

Colin Elam contributed to this story.

This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 5:30 AM.