A Springfield resident was sentenced April 16 to 18 years in prison for distributing child pornography over his cell phone.
Shaun Walker, 41, who once lived in Kansas, appeared in federal court in Kansas City. He had pleaded guilty Oct. 11, to one count of attempting to distribute child pornography over the internet.
According to a press release from the office of U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore, Western District of Missouri:
The child pornography was found on the cell phone Walker carried into a secure area at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Security Campus in Kansas City.
At the time of the offense, Walker was employed by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technology, which is contracted by the Nuclear National Security Administration.
Walker entered an inner secure area of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Kansas City National Security Campus with his personal cell phone on Nov. 29, 2021.
He self reported that he had mistakenly brought his cell phone into secure area
Walker contacted Kansas City National Security Campus security to self-report the violation. He gave his cell phone to security personnel, who reviewed the phone to determine if any classified material was present.
During the review, a security officer instead observed images and videos of child pornography. Walker’s phone was seized to conduct an examination.
Investigators found an encrypted folder on Walker’s phone that contained 21 images and a video of a 5-year-old girl. Investigators found dozens of additional images and videos of child pornography on Walker’s phone.
Investigators also found thousands of WhatsApp chats between Walker and females he contacted through a livestreaming pornography website. Walker requested photos and videos of nude underage females conducting sex acts. As a result of his WhatsApp chats, Walker received and distributed images and videos of child pornography.
Walker will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements.
