Washington man lands prison time for attempting to coerce minor for sexual activity in undercover investigation

MISSOULA — Kenton Alan Shaull, a 59-year-old Washington man who traveled to Missoula expecting to meet a child for sex, was sentenced today, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy sentenced Shaull to 10 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. The defendant pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor in April 2023 after he had been arrested in an undercover investigation. 

The government alleged in court documents and in statements in court that from January to May 2022, Shaull used his cellular phone to communicate on an internet-based social media service with a profile he believed belonged to a child, identified as “E,” who was under the age of 14. Shaull reaffirmed multiple times his belief that “E” was a child under the age of 14. Shaull also expressed his desire to engage in sexual activity with “E” and sent several sexually explicit videos of himself. Shaull further expressed his desire to meet “E” in person for sexual activity and traveled to Missoula on May 14, 2022 to meet with “E” at a pre-determined location, where law enforcement officers arrested him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Lowney prosecuted the case. The FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and Missoula County Sheriff’s Office investigated the 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. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.