Sedalia Sex Offender Gets 35 Years for Child Pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – In a stark reminder of the lengths predators will go for explicit material, Dustin Shane Colvin, 35, a registered sex offender from Sedalia, Mo., was today sentenced to 35 years in federal prison without parole. The U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool handed down the sentence following Colvin’s guilty plea on two counts of receiving and distributing child pornography.

Colvin had previously been convicted of statutory rape of a 13-year-old victim back in 2007. On Jan. 4, 2024, he pleaded guilty to soliciting sexually explicit photos from a 14-year-old girl. The investigation revealed that Colvin paid Serena Dowling, his then fiancé, for the images, though she only delivered about half of the promised $100 per photo.

Co-defendant Dowling, 24, also of Sedalia, pleaded guilty on March 11, 2024, to one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. She awaits her sentencing. Dowling was paid by Colvin for taking the photos at his request, using Snapchat to send them to him.

This harrowing case is a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. The project aims to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse by marshaling federal, state, and local resources to apprehend and prosecute such individuals.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan prosecuted this case, which was investigated by the Christian County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

The relentless pursuit of justice in cases like Colvin’s is a testament to the commitment of law enforcement agencies dedicated to protecting our children from predators. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

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