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January 13, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Masontown Resident Sentenced to 6 Years
on Child Pornography Charge

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A 38 year old Masontown, West Virginia, resident was sentenced on January 8, 2010, in United States District Court in Clarksburg by Judge Irene M. Keeley.

Acting United States Attorney Betsy C. Jividen announced that GARY RAY SHILLINGBURG was sentenced to 72 months imprisonment to be followed by lifetime supervision. SHILLINGBURG entered a plea of guilty on September 14, 2009, to one count of possession of child pornography on August 7, 2008, in Masontown, when he knowingly possessed a computer disk and other material containing images of child pornography, which had been shipped in interstate commerce. SHILLINGBURG, who is free on bond, will self-report to the designated federal institution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Perri. The case was investigated by the West Virginia State Police.