New London Man Sentenced for Production of Child Pornography

James L. Santelle, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on May 11, 2015, Shane M. Sells (age: 38) of New London, Wisconsin, was sentenced by Chief District Judge William C. Griesbach to 180 months imprisonment for production of child pornography in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 2251(a). Upon his release Sells will be on federal supervised release for the remainder of his life.   

Sells engaged in sexually explicit conduct with minor children for the purpose of producing a video of that conduct, as well as knowingly possessing hundreds of thousands of DVDs each containing countless images of child pornography he had downloaded from the internet. 

In pronouncing sentence, Judge Griesbach noted the horrendous nature of Sells’ crime, as well as the lifelong effect that sexual exploitation crimes have on victims. The court dismissed as “rationalization” Sells’ contention that he was unable to control his addiction to child pornography. Judge Griesbach expressed his hope that the 15 year prison sentence followed by a lifetime of supervision would deter others in the community from any involvement in the production or possession of child pornography.   

The case was investigated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation and the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.

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 U.S. Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better 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.

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