Shawn Livingston, Child Sex Abuse, Maryland 2022

A shocking case of child sex abuse has come to light in Annapolis, Maryland, with the indictment of 38-year-old Shawn Livingston.

Livingston, an information technology professional and former employee of an Annapolis private school, has been charged with two counts of coercion and enticement of minors and 12 counts of receipt of child sexual abuse material.

The indictment alleges that Livingston began utilizing several Snapchat internet-based accounts in 2022 to meet and communicate with minor females, coercing and enticing them to send visual depictions of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct in exchange for money.

According to the indictment, Livingston sent payments via peer-to-peer payment applications, including CashApp and Venmo, to at least five minor victims, who were between 15 and 16 years old, and living throughout the United States.

Livingston, if convicted, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in federal prison for each count of coercion and enticement, and a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 20 years for each count of receipt of child sexual abuse material.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt, and Livingston is presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding.

U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes commended the DSS and MSP for their work in the investigation, and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven T. Brantley and Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn who are prosecuting the federal case.

Livingston’s case highlights the importance of online safety education and the need for vigilance in protecting children from predators.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc.

For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/psc and click on the ‘Resources’ tab on the left of the page.

The Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting the community and preventing child sex abuse. For more information about its priorities and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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