United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

FORT WORTH PHYSICIAN PLEADS GUILTY IN FEDERAL COURT TO
POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

DALLAS, Texas — Dr. James Shin, a recent resident of Southlake, Texas, pled guilty this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez to an information charging one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Dr. Shin, who is also known as Young Jin Shin and James Young-Jin Shin, was, according to the hospital’s website, the Chair of the Internal Medicine Department at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Shin, 46, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. He will be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is set for October 15, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.

According to documents filed in Court, Dr. Shin admitted that in September 2007, he used the Internet to download and possess images and videos of minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Based on an investigative lead from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cyber-crime unit in Washington, D.C., an ICE Special Agent visited the Shin residence in Southlake on September 13, 2007, and Dr. Shin agreed to allow the agents to search his computer. A forensic exam of the computer revealed numerous images and videos of child pornography, which included visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Shin admitted he knowingly possessed and acquired the images and videos of child pornography on his computer from public newsgroups on the Internet and that he did view child pornography. Some of the images of child pornography contained images of real children that have been identified through other law enforcement investigations throughout the nation.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. 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 Roper commended the investigative efforts of ICE. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis is prosecuting the case.

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