Brooklyn Man Sentenced To 20 Years For Producing Child Pornography

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DAVID SHALAM was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for the sexual exploitation of minors. SHALAM pled guilty on March 15, 2018.  The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.   

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “David Shalam previously admitted to the unconscionable crime of instructing others to engage in sexual acts with young children. Today’s sentence of twenty years in prison fittingly underscores the craven nature of Shalam’s acts. This Office will continue to aggressively bring perpetrators of crimes against children to swift and resolute justice.”

As set forth in the Superseding Information, the Complaint, and statements made during the plea proceeding:

Between April and December 2015, SHALAM paid a woman in Romania (referred to in the Complaint as “Jane Doe”) to participate in a series of live video chats over Skype, during which SHALAM directed Jane Doe to engage in specific sexually explicit conduct with her minor children, who at the time were approximately six and eight years old.  SHALAM referred to Jane Doe’s real time sexual abuse of her children as “shows,” at least one of which SHALAM recorded.

In conjunction with Romanian authorities, the FBI recovered logs of instant messages between SHALAM and Jane Doe over Skype, during which SHALAM and Jane Doe discussed the kinds of sex acts SHALAM wanted to see performed, when the children would be home from school so that the “shows” could take place, and the cost of each “show.” SHALAM wired payments to Jane Doe through a Western Union branch in midtown, Manhattan, a few blocks from the office where SHALAM worked for a retail clothing company.

In addition to his conduct with Jane Doe, SHALAM also engaged in similar conduct with an individual located in Colombia, who engaged in sexually explicit conduct with minor children during live video sessions with SHALAM in exchange for payments.

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In addition to the prison term, SHALAM, 51, of Brooklyn, New York, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the FBI. 

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe is in charge of the prosecution.