Mikell Shepard, Child Exploitation, Indiana 2025

In a shocking case of child exploitation, 22-year-old Mikell Shepard, a Connersville photographer and owner of 'Shepard Photography' and 'Boudoir by Shepard', has been charged with multiple federal child exploitation crimes.

According to a federal complaint filed on October 24, 2025, Shepard has been charged with three counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child and one count of Possession of Child Pornography.

The investigation began when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Indianapolis received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) on October 23, 2025. The report included investigative findings submitted by Google, which identified content in Shepard's account believed to depict sexually explicit images and videos of minor children.

Google reviewed and flagged over 400 files allegedly showing minors engaged in sexual acts, as well as over 1,000 files depicting the lascivious exhibition of the genitals of minors.

On October 24, 2025, law enforcement executed a state search warrant at Shepard's residence. Investigators discovered sexually explicit images and videos of minors allegedly produced by Shepard in both professional and personal settings, including while babysitting. These images reportedly include both female and male children, as young as 9 months old.

Shepard has been known to babysit several children, and has photographed children at a daycare, skating rink, and a gymnastics center in or near Connersville. Investigators believe there may be additional victims.

If you believe a child may have been victimized by Mikell Shepard, please contact Fayette County/Connersville Police non-emergency dispatch at (765) 825-2111.

Shepard has been known to advertise himself as a professional photographer who 'works well with families, children, and infants' on his Facebook account.

According to the Writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Prosequendum filed today, Shepard will be transported from the Fayette County Jail to federal custody and will remain in the custody of the United States for all other necessary proceedings in this case.

Homeland Security Investigations, Indiana State Police, Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and Connersville Police Department are investigating this case.

Mikell Shepard, 22, of Connersville, Indiana, is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/pr/mikell-shepard-connersville-photographer-and-owner-shepard-photography-and-boudoir