Fresno Man Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison for Receiving Child Pornography

FRESNO, CA—Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced Michael Shane McFarling, 38, today to eight years and four months in prison, to be followed 15 years of supervised release, for receiving and sharing images of child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, McFarling received more than 600 images and videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct that involved the portrayal of sadistic, masochistic, and other depictions of violence. McFarling received the child pornography on his computer, and many of the minors depicted were prepubescent minors.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fresno Police Department, and the California Department of Justice. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and ask to speak with the PSC coordinator.