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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Dec. 09 , 2008
LEAVENWORTH MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO BUYING CHILD PORN ON THE WEB
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Shawn B. Mullen, 44, Leavenworth, Kan., has pleaded guilty to buying child pornography on the Internet, Acting U.S. Attorney Marietta Parker announced Tuesday.
Mullen pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.
From June 2006 through February 2007 agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement identified numerous Web sites that offered buyers access to child pornography. Buyers could pay for access by credit card. Agents conducted more than 60 undercover transactions and obtained transaction logs from PayPal in order to determine the names and addresses of customers who bought child pornography. Mullen made a payment to PayPal of $99.95 for access to a site known as “Sick Child Room,” which offered video and images of prepubescent minors engaged in sex with adults.
Sentencing is set for March 9, 2009. He faces a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of receiving child pornography, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of possession. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin is prosecuting.
This case was prosecuted through Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative aimed at protecting children from sexual exploitation.
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