Miami County Man Sentenced to 72 Months in Prison

SOUTH BEND – Cody Shanks, 29 years old, of Bunker Hill, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Shanks was sentenced to 72 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, between November 2022, and March 2023, Shanks, an elementary school teacher, received child sexual abuse material files via the internet.  

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Indiana State Police, the Miami County Sheriff’s Department, and the Howard County Sheriff’s Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John M. Maciejczyk and Hannah T. Jones.

The case was 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 DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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.