KSP SPECIAL BRANCH UNIT HITS SUSPECT WITH 21 CHARGES
DROP KICKED HIMSELF TO JAIL: SHAWN PATRICK PEARCE, 29, OF CAMPTON, KENTUCKY; ARRETSED BY STATE POLICE ON NUMEROUS CHILD PORNOGRAPY CHARGES.
A Wolfe County, Ky. man was arrested Thursday, May 6, by a special state police unit, after he was found to be in possession of a large amount of child pornography imagery.
The Kentucky State Police (KSP) Electronic Crime Branch arrested Shawn Patrick Pearce, 29, of Campton, Ky., on charges related to child sexual abuse material.
Pearce was arrested as the result of an undercover Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigation. The KSP Electronic Crime Branch began the investigation after discovering the suspect uploading images of child sexual exploitation online.
The investigation resulted in the execution of a search warrant at a residence in Campton on May 6, 2021. Equipment used to facilitate the crime was seized and taken to KSP’s forensic laboratory for examination. The investigation is ongoing.
Pearce is currently charged with 20 counts of possessing or viewing matter portraying a minor in a sexual performance and one count of distribution of matter portraying a minor in a sexual performance.
These charges are Class-D felonies punishable by one to five years in prison. In all, if convicted in a trial on all charges, Shawn Pearce could face from 25 years to up to 105 years in state prison.
Shawn Patrick Pearce was lodged in the Three Forks Regional Jail in Beattyville, which is in Lee County, Kentucky..
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The Kentucky Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is composed of more than twenty-six local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the United States Department of Justice and administered by the Kentucky State Police, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing a response to cyber enticement and child sexual abuse material investigations. This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention and community education. The ICAC program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity of predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.
