United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

Producer of Child Pornography Admits Guilt

Paul Edward Shook, Jr., of Abilene, Texas, pled guilty today in federal court in Lubbock to two counts of production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Shook, 45, faces a maximum statutory sentence of not less than 15 years in prison nor more than 60 years in prison, a $500,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Following today’s guilty plea, U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered a pre-sentence investigation with sentencing to be scheduled after that investigation.

Shook was arrested in late December 2006 on charges outlined in a federal criminal complaint and was then indicted in January 2007 and charged with two counts of production of child pornography and two counts of transportation of child pornography. Shook has been in custody since his arrest. As part of his plea agreement, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Shook must register as a sex offender and keep his registration current.

In documents filed in Court, Shook admitted that during 2006, while residing in Abilene, Texas, he maintained an Internet account which he used to chat with persons around the U.S. and other countries. During these chat sessions, Shook would use a Web cam connected to his computer to transmit images of himself to the people with whom he was chatting, and he would generally receive images on his computer transmitted to him by those people.

Shook admitted he began chatting with individuals who were interested in engaging in sexual acts with children. Shook then engaged in sexually explicit conduct with “Jane Doe,” a prepubescent child, on seven or eight occasions in 2006. In April and December of 2006, Shook caused the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him so that he could transmit a visual depiction of the activity on the Internet. During the December offense, Shook transmitted the sexual abuse to a person in another state who was sexually abusing a five-year-old female child and using a Web cam to transmit a depiction of that criminal activity to Shook.

“This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better 
locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.”

U.S. Attorney commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Abilene, Texas, Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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