Former Basketball Coach Sentenced for Transporting a Minor for Sex

GREENVILLE, MS – A Memphis, Tennessee man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for traveling in interstate commerce to engage in sexual activity with a minor under 16 years old and stalking after the minor turned 18.

According to court documents, Andreus Shannon, 44, held himself out as a basketball coach for an area homeschool association. With his position, he groomed the parents and a minor female basketball player until he was trusted to drive the player to practices and scrimmages in Mississippi and Tennessee. Over several years, Shannon sexually exploited the minor at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, gyms across Mississippi and Tennessee, and his rental property in Tennessee. When the player turned 18, Shannon began a campaign of cyberstalking when the player attempted to break up with him. Shannon also threatened to release sexually explicit images of the player in order to extort her into a continued sexual relationship. These actions continued for two years.

Chief District Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Shannon to 144 months in federal prison, and five years of supervised release. Judge Brown imposed the 144-month sentence for traveling in interstate commerce for illicit sexual activity with a minor, plus a concurrent 60-month sentence for cyberstalking. Shannon will have to register as a sex offender in any place he lives, works, or goes to school.

“The defendant’s crimes represented a truly reprehensible betrayal of trust, and he is now in prison where he belongs,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “The work by AUSA Parker King, the FBI, the Memphis Police Department, and especially the Olive Branch Police Department was truly outstanding and deserving of our thanks.”

"Andreus Shannon, callously undermined the trust of unsuspecting parents, preying on a minor for years,” stated Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jackson Field Office Robert Eikhoff. “Shannon’s, deliberate actions in targeting the innocence of our youth will not be tolerated. The FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office, Mississippi Attorney General's Office, Olive Branch Police Department, Oxford Police Department and the Memphis Police Department will continue to aggressively investigate and bring predatory individuals like Shannon to justice."

This investigation was led by the FBI. The Memphis Police Department and the Olive Branch Police Department also played a crucial role in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. King prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.