Las Vegas Man Convicted Of Receipt And Possession Of Child Pornography Following Multiple Prior Child Pornography Convictions

LAS VEGAS – After a one-day bench trial, a Las Vegas man was found guilty on Monday for one-count of receipt of child pornography and one-count of possession of child pornography. As a result, he faces at least 15 years in federal custody.

According to court documents and the evidence presented at trial, on June 12, 2023, Leonard Shove was found in possession of a cell phone that contained multiple images and videos which constitute child pornography. Shove was on federal supervised release at the time of the offense, and in accordance with the terms of his release, the U.S. Probation Office conducted a search of his possessions and discovered the cellular device in his backpack. The FBI subsequently took possession of the cellular device and continued the investigation.

United States District Judge Cristina D. Silva presided over the bench trial on June 16, 2025. Shove was convicted of one-count of receipt of child pornography and one-count of possession of child pornography. He had multiple prior convictions related to the possession and receipt of child pornography.

Shove is set to be sentenced on September 22, 2025. As a result of his conduct, and his prior convictions, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and statutory maximum of 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada and Acting Special Agent in Charge Rafik Mattar for the FBI Las Vegas Division made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Probation Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Jean Ripley and Daniel Schiess prosecuted the case. The case was initially indicted by Trial Attorney Supriya Prasad.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

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