Stillwater Man Indicted for Possessing Child Pornography

A federal indictment was unsealed today following the initial appearance of a 40-year-old Stillwater man on child pornography charges. The indictment, filed under seal in U.S. District Court in Minnesota on March 9, 2010, alleges that on March 4, 2009, Shane Allen Werlein knowingly possessed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Police recovered seven videos on Werlein’s computer.

If convicted, Werlein faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Stillwater Police Department, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. All four agencies are affiliates of the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney LeeAnn K. Bell.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), a national initiative to combat the growing epidemic of sexually exploiting children, particularly via the Internet. PSC was launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in May of 2006. Led by the Department’s Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, along with U.S. Attorney’s nationwide, PSC encourages federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships and provides resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who abuse children while identifying and rescuing victims of that crime. In 2008, PSC was credited with 2,289 child-pornography indictments being filed in federal court nationwide, a 33-percent increase over 2006. For more information about PSC, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.