Former Elementary School Teacher’s Aide Indicted on Child Pornography and Related Charges

LUBBOCK, TX—A former elementary school teacher’s aide in the Childress Independent School District, Shanice Adel Lambert, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Lubbock, Texas, yesterday, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. It is expected that Lambert will surrender to federal authorities and make her first appearance in federal court within a week.

The four-count indictment charges Lambert, 37, of Childress, Texas, with one count of production of child pornography, one count of enticement of a minor and two counts of transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

The indictment alleges that in February 2012, Lambert induced a minor male, under the age of 18, to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct, and that she also used a cellular telephone and telephone texting to entice the minor to engage in sexual activity for which she could be charged with a criminal offense. The indictment further alleges that on two dates, February 11 and February 19, 2012, Lambert transported the minor from Texas to Oklahoma with the intent that the minor engage in sexual activity for which Lambert could be charged with a criminal offense.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. Upon conviction, the production count carries a statutory sentence of not less than 15 years or more than 30 years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine and up to a lifetime of supervised release. The enticement count, and each of the transportation counts, carries a statutory sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to a lifetime of supervised release.

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 Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock is in charge of the prosecution.