Defendant Pleads Guilty to Distributing and Receiving Child Pornography

 ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Shawn Everett Daley, 41, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Daly distributed and received computer movies depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. An examination of Daly’s digital devices and cloud storage accounts revealed the presence of thousands of movies depicting young children being sexually abused. Daly has a prior conviction in Pennsylvania for the indecent assault of two minor females. Daly’s plea agreement contains a binding sentencing provision whereby the parties agreed to a sentence of 24 years in jail to be followed by 10 years 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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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.justice.gov/psc.

Judge Baxter scheduled sentencing for February 5, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 80 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Daly.