Repeat Offender Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material

CONCORD – A Nashua man pleaded guilty today in federal court to possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Shane Niven, age 33, pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of child pornography.  U.S. District Court Samantha Elliott scheduled sentencing for July 16, 2024.

Federal authorities found CSAM on electronic devices belonging to Niven at his home.  Niven is a registered sex offender with a prior conviction for possession of child sexual abuse material. Authorities identified Niven through tips made to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which reflected that on at least two occasions, Niven’s residential IP address had been used to share hundreds of files of suspected CSAM with users of a particular online platform.  Several of the files identified in the tips to NCMEC were found on devices seized from Niven’s home.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, at least 5 years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Nashua Police Department led the investigation. The New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force provided valuable assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasey Weiland is prosecuting the case.  

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 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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