Canton Man Sentenced to 228 Months For Sexual Exploitation of Children

DETROIT – A Canton man was sentenced to 228 months in prison on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, announced United States Attorney Dawn Ison. 

Ison was joined in the announcement by Josh P. Hauxhurst, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division. 

Sentenced was Shailesh Patel, 54.  In sentencing Patel, United States District Court Judge George Steeh also ordered Patel to pay a $50,000 fine.

According to court records, Patel admitted that in approximately 2010, on at least one occasion, he gave a 10-year-old female his cellular phone and told her to make a video that produced a visual depiction constituting child pornography. The victim estimated that this occurred on approximately 30 occasions. Patel abused this victim, and others, for years, beginning when she was as young as five and continuing until she was 12. The victim stated that the abuse is a “burden that I will carry for the rest of my life, and so will those people in my life who love me the most, my family and friends.”

US Attorney Dawn N. Ison stated, “The victim in this case demonstrated great courage coming forward with her story, stopping Patel’s abuse and likely preventing future victims. The United States Attorney’s Office remains dedicated to the safety of children and holding abusers like Patel responsible for their actions.”

"Creating child sexual abuse material is a serious offense that causes incalculable damage to young victims,” said Josh P. Hauxhurst, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Division. “Today’s sentence in combination with the sentences he is facing in state court holds Mr. Patel accountable for his conduct and ensures he cannot harm any more children, but it will never make up for the lifetime of painful memories he inflicted on his victims and their families. Cases like this one illustrate the FBI’s commitment to identify, investigate, and hold predators like him accountable.”

Patel has also pleaded guilty in the Third Judicial Circuit Court to 15 to 35 years in prison for a first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge, 9 to 15 years for two second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges, and probation for a fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charge. The conduct giving rise to these charges involves two minor female victims, one of which is the same victim as the federal case.  He is awaiting sentencing on these charges.

The case was the result of a joint investigation by the Canton Police Department and the Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force (“SEMTEC”) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as a cooperative effort between the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Office.