Kansas man pleads guilty to producing child pornography

WICHITA, Kan. – A Kansas man pleaded guilty to producing child pornography with a young boy after an investigation conducted by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Shawn Marshal Christiansen, 37, of Great Bend, Kan., admitted that on Dec. 6, 2009, he recorded a live-streaming video in which he positioned a boy who was four to six years old in front of a Web camera. He pulled the boy's pants and underwear down to expose the boy's genitals.

During the course of investigating another individual located in North Dakota, ICE HSI agents found evidence that the man had received the video of the boy from Christiansen. ICE HSI agents analyzed Christiansen's computer, where they found chat logs in which Christiansen talked about the incident with the boy.

Sentencing is set for Feb. 21. Christiansen faces a penalty of 15 to 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart, District of Kansas, prosecuted the case.

The investigation is part of ICE's Operation Predator, a nationwide initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who sexually exploit children, and the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, which marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children using the Internet.

As part of Operation Predator, ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or its online tip form. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.