A man from Spotsylvania, Virginia, has pleaded guilty to producing child pornography.
According to court documents, Shane Johnston, 46, induced a nine-year-old child to produce and send him images of herself engaging in sexual activity. The images were sent to Johnston’s Discord account in June 2023.
On July 2023, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Toronto contacted HSI Richmond regarding the account with the username ‘FairyHunter.’ HSI identified Johnston as the account user, and agents obtained a search warrant for five electronic devices belonging to him.
The devices contained 7,453 media files constituting child pornography. Johnston is scheduled to be sentenced on August 13 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea Gibbons is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Johnston’s case was brought as part of this initiative, which marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet and to identify and rescue victims.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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