Virginia Beach Man Charged with Possession of Child Pornography
NORFOLK, Va. – Michael D. Shanklin, Jr., 38, of Virginia Beach, Va., was indicted by a federal grand jury today on one count of possession of child pornography.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement.
Shanklin faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, if convicted.
According to the indictment, Shanklin possessed a computer hard drive containing one or more images of child pornography. Shanklin was formerly a teacher at Landstown High School in Virginia Beach.
This case was investigated by the Virginia Beach Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Randy Stoker is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
