Michael Shawn Chandler, Child Exploitation, Oklahoma 2023

Muldrow, Oklahoma resident Michael Shawn Chandler, 51, has been sentenced to 210 months in prison for his role in perpetuating the victimization of children subjected to sexual exploitation and abuse.

The charges against Chandler arose from an investigation by the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office, the Muldrow Police Department, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Chandler was arrested on a warrant issued by the Cherokee Nation Tribal Court in the Spring of 2023. At the time of the arrest, he was in possession of multiple cell phones. A subsequent search of the phones revealed that Chandler knowingly received and stored over 40 videos and images of child sexual abuse from the internet.

On August 9, 2023, Chandler was indicted for one count of Receipt of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Possession of Certain Material involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.

Chandler pleaded guilty to the charges on December 21, 2023. The Honorable William P. Johnson, Chief U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for New Mexico, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah McAmis and Jessie Pippin represented the United States. 'This case is an excellent example of the interagency cooperation taking place in the Eastern District of Oklahoma,' said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson.

Chandler will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edok/pr/sequoyah-county-resident-sentenced-receiving-and-possessing-child-sexual-exploitation