Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced To Twenty Years On Federal ChargesDefendant Also Sentenced To State Aggravated Rape Charges In Middlesex County

BOSTON – A previously convicted Level II sex offender was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston for transportation and possession of child pornography.

George Shipps, 32, of Chelsea, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 20 years in prison. In May 2014, Shipps pleaded guilty to transportation and possession of child pornography. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Shipps also pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2014 to one count of aggravated child rape in Middlesex Superior Court and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison, to be served concurrently with the federal sentence. Shipps, a Level II registered sex offender based upon a 2006 state conviction for child pornography and enticement offenses, was on state court probation when he committed the federal offenses.

Shipps was sentenced on state charges for the sexual assault of a six-year-old girl in September 2012. The abuse was captured in photographs later recovered by the FBI.

While conducting an international investigation, federal law enforcement agents discovered that Shipps was sending and receiving child pornography via email. In February 2013, a search warrant executed at Shipps’ residence recovered a laptop computer, a compact disk, and a cell phone that had all been smashed to pieces. Forensic examination of those devices revealed 100 images of child pornography and child erotica, all of which had been deleted or were found in temporary internet history.

During the execution of the search warrant, Shipps admitted that he took sexually explicit photographs of three children, ages four, five, and six, on separate occasions and distributed those images.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, and Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan made the announcement today. District Attorney Ryan thanked FBI investigators and Massachusetts State Police detectives for their cooperative efforts in this case.
The federal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacy Dawson Belf of Ortiz’s Cyber Crimes Unit and the Middlesex case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Katharine Folger.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division=s CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.