Sex Trafficking Charges in the Philippines
A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, has returned additional charges against Anthony Shultz, 54, a Lindsborg man accused of traveling to the Philippines to engage in sex with minors, produce videos of sex acts with minors, and distribute them on the internet.
The case began in April 2016 when the FBI received a tip that a U.S. citizen was sexually abusing minors in the Philippines, producing live-streaming videos and distributing them via the internet to users who paid to see them. Investigators followed an electronic trail to Shultz, who was a commercial pilot and owned a home in Lindsborg.
Shultz is charged with 11 counts, including engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place with minor victims, production of child pornography, sex trafficking of children, and distribution of child pornography. If convicted, the crimes carry penalties ranging from five to 30 years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000.
The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart and Elly Pierson, a trial attorney with the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, are prosecuting. Shultz is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This is not the first indictment in this case, as Shultz was initially charged in July 2016. The additional charges bring new allegations against Shultz, including sex trafficking of children.
The indictment also highlights the need for vigilance in protecting children from exploitation and abuse, particularly in foreign countries where such crimes may go undetected.
Meanwhile, in another case, Cesar Humberto Melandez-Morales, 28, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm while in the United States. The crime allegedly occurred on April 5, 2017, in Lincoln County, Kansas. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
The Kansas Highway Patrol and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Related Federal Cases
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- John H. Dickerson, Sex Trafficking of a Minor, Wichita KS, 2023 · Kansas
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- Samuel Below, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Kansas 2016 · Kansas
- Dream First Bank, FDIC Receivership, Kansas, 2023 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Kansas
- Category: Sex Crimes|Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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