Last Updated on December 28, 2022
A now-former teacher assistant at an elementary school in Arkansas pleaded guilty to child pornography charges earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Augustus Shenker, a 22-year-old, pleaded guilty to three counts alleging he produced child pornography inside an Arkansas classroom.
Shenker was indicted over child pornography charges in June 2021 after the FBI received a tip in May that alleged Shenker had a Dropbox account with an email that possessed seven different explicit child pornography videos.
FBI investigators looked into Shenker and realized he was employed at an early education school in Little Rock.
Shenker’s place of employment, Miss Selma’s School, educates students as young as 18 months old through fifth grade.
After FBI agents got a warrant on Shenker, they seized his iPhone and discovered six videos Shenker made in March 2021 where he groped a preschooler in a classroom.
A hidden folder on Shenker’s phone contained 19 more videos of explicit child pornography filmed in the classroom at Miss Selma’s School.
United States Attorney Jonathan Ross called Shenker’s actions “unthinkable abuse.”
“This defendant violated the trust parents placed in him each day by placing their children in his care. Using his position to exploit preschoolers is an unthinkable abuse, especially in their own school—the very place we expect children to be protected,” Ross said.
“We appreciate the hard work of the FBI in identifying and arresting this defendant and hope this conviction deters others who would harm children,” he added.
Shenker first told investigators he formerly had a problem with child pornography years ago. Investigators also discovered thousands of images of child pornography across Shenker’s devices.
The 22-year-old is expected to face 15-30 years in prison and will be placed on the sex offender registry.
Stay tuned to National File for any updates.
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