Kansas man charged with producing child pornography

WICHITA, Kan. - A local man charged with producing child pornography with a 7-year-old appeared in federal court Monday. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom, District of Kansas, and resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Shawn Marshal Christiansen, 36, of Great Bend, Kan., is charged with one count of producing and one count of possessing child pornography. The crimes allegedly occurred from April 27, 2009 to Jan. 8, 2010 in Great Bend.

The indictment alleges Christiansen used a Web camera to produce child pornography depicting the genitals of a 7-year-old child and he distributed the image via live streaming video.

If convicted, Christiansen faces a minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison without parole, and a fine up to $250,000, for producing child pornography. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the possession charge.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart, District of Kansas, is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.