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Press Release

Registered Sex Offender Charged With Attempted Coercion Of A Minor

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Shane Kainoa Kelly, 45, of Tracy, charging him with attempted online coercion of a minor to engage in sexual activity and the commission of an offense involving a minor while required to register as a sex offender, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. 

 

According to court documents, Kelly responded to a personal advertisement on Backpage.com and began conversing with an individual he believed to be 15 years old via text. Kelly discussed sexual activity with the individual, sent her multiple photographs and arranged to meet her when her mother was purportedly not at home. Unbeknownst to Kelly, the individual with whom he conversed was actually a law enforcement agent.  

 

This case was the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Manteca Police Department Investigations Division, and San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Amy Schuller Hitchcock is prosecuting the case.

 

If convicted, Kelly faces a mandatory statutory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety.

Updated October 26, 2017

Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Press Release Number: 2:17-cr-197-JAM