Orange County Sex Offender Jailed for Reddit Solicitation of Minors

Shaw Warrington, a 34-year-old convicted sex offender from San Juan Capistrano, California, is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison after his arrest on federal charges of soliciting minors on Reddit.

According to the indictment, in January and February of 2023, Warrington used the Reddit website to attempt to solicit sex from minors in Orange County. An undercover law enforcement official responded to Warrington’s requests and eventually scheduled a meeting at a Newport Beach shopping center, where Warrington believed he would engage in criminal sexual activity.

Warrington was arrested after appearing at the meeting location. A search of his cellphone allegedly returned two images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Law enforcement also seized a firearm and more than 350 rounds of ammunition from Warrington’s residence, which he is not permitted to possess due to his 2013 felony conviction in Orange County Superior Court for meeting a minor with the intent to engage in lewd conduct.

Warrington is charged with one count of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of attempted production of child pornography, one count of commission of a felony offense involving a minor while required to register as a sex offender, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Warrington pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and is currently being held in federal custody without bond. A trial date of July 16 has been scheduled in this case. If convicted, Warrington would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in federal prison, as well as a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

The FBI and the Newport Beach Police Department are investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin J. Campbell of the Santa Ana Branch Office is prosecuting this case. An indictment contains allegations that a defendant committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.