CLEVELAND – A Richland County man has been sentenced to federal prison for engaging in online activities that involved Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
Shane E. Westerfeld, 51, of Mansfield, has been sentenced to 108 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, after pleading guilty in May to Receipt of Real Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct and Possession of Child Pornography.
He was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $11,000 in restitution to victims.
According to court documents and evidence presented in court, in February 2024 Westerfeld was discovered trafficking CSAM on an online platform and communicating with an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old girl.
During a search warrant executed on his electronic devices, investigators found that he knowingly received more than 100 computer files which contained the sexual abuse of children.
Several files involved prepubescent minors under the age of 12 including toddlers. Upon further investigation, Westerfeld was found to also have a previous conviction for possessing child pornography in Canada.
The investigation leading to the indictment was led by the FBI Mansfield Resident Agency.
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer J. King for the Northern District Ohio led the prosecution.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The initiative is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country and 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, visit justice.gov/PSC.
To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.