Evansville Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison After Recording his Sexual Abuse of a Seven-Year-Old Girl

EVANSVILLE- Shane C. Collins, 34, of Warrick County, Indiana was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to producing child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, on March 7, 2021, Collins recorded a video of himself engaging in a sex act with a seven-year-old girl. Between March 17 and March 19, 2021, Collins took additional sexually explicit pictures of the child. Collins saved the recordings of his sexual abuse of the child using an internet cloud-based data storage application.

“Every child deserves to grow up safe, loved, and free from sexual abuse. Sexual predators like this defendant inflict lifelong trauma on vulnerable victims to satisfy their own criminal lusts,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Every day he is in federal prison is another day we can be certain he will not harm a child. I commend the work of the FBI and the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office for ensuring that the public and the victim are protected from any further abuses by this dangerous pedophile.”

“I want to commend both the efforts of the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI to put this perpetrator behind bars. These criminal acts are not only horrendous in nature, but knowing this individual participated in taking advantage of a child in our community is very concerning,” said Sheriff Michael Wilder of the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office. “This sentence is an example of great teamwork among local and federal agencies.” 

“No amount of time in federal prison seems adequate for those who sexually exploit children, but this sentence clearly demonstrates the commitment of the FBI and our law enforcement partners to identify these predators and ensure they can never victimize innocent children again,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge, Herbert J Stapleton.

The FBI investigated this case with valuable assistance provided by the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge, Richard L. Young. Judge Young also ordered that Collins be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for LIFE following his release from federal prison. Collins must also register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school, as required by law.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney, Todd Shellenbarger who prosecuted this case.

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

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