BOSTON - William Shenette, 31, was arrested on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, and charged in federal court in Worcester with possession of child pornography.
On Dec. 1, 2017, a search warrant was executed at Shenette’s residence in Webster where videos containing prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including oral and anal sex with adults, were discovered on a tablet that belonged to Shenette.
The charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime 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 other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin M. Bell of Weinreb’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and 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 via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
