GRIMY NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Kurt Batucan Sheldon, a 29-year-old employee of the Putnam County Library in Interlachen, Florida, has been arrested and charged by federal complaint with production and possession of child exploitation material.
The U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced that Sheldon faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to 50 years, in federal prison. His detention follows an intense investigation by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.
According to the complaint, parents reported sexually explicit messages sent by an adult on Snapchat and Whisper to their 15-year-old daughter. The sender used the screen name ‘K t’ and the username ‘tacticfallout.’ He represented himself as a male between 25-29 years old, lying about his age and location. Sheldon directed the child on how to take inappropriate images and videos.
HSI agents identified Sheldon’s residence as the source of the IP address used by the Snapchat account ‘tacticfallout.’ During a search warrant execution on September 4, 2020, Sheldon admitted to having child sexual abuse material on his computer. He also confessed to asking underage girls for nude photographs.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. Any person who may have been a victim or knows someone who was should contact HSI at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or fill out an online tip form at http://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form.
Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington and Kelly Karase will be prosecuting this case. Kurt Batucan Sheldon is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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