Oroville Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation Offense

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States District Judge John A. Mendez sentenced Jan Alan Shafer, 65, of Oroville, to 10 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for attempted travel with intent to engage in sex with a minor, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, for more than two years, Shafer engaged in conversations of a sexual nature via email and an internet instant messenger service with an adult who was posing as a 10-year-old boy from Alabama. During their email exchanges, Shafer received images of child pornography, including sexually explicit images of prepubescent children. Shafer also expressed his intent to visit or move to Alabama to meet the 10-year-old boy and to engage in sexual conduct. On October 30, 2014, agents arrested Shafer at the Greyhound bus station in Oroville before he boarded a bus to Alabama.

On March 1, 2016, Shafer pleaded guilty to one count of attempted travel with intent to engage in sex with a minor.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Brian A. Fogerty, André M. Espinosa, and Rosanne Rust prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.