PEORIA, Ill. – An Iowa man was sentenced in a Peoria federal courtroom to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty in April to Production of Child Pornography.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says Michael Shell, 52, of Melrose, Iowa, was given the sentence Tuesday, followed by ten years of parole.
Shell was indicted in May of 2019. Authorities say Peoria County Sheriffs Deputies and Canton Police aided in the investigation involving the sexual abuse of a female for five years, ending when she was 14. The girl lived within the Central Illinois federal district at the time.
Shell took photographs of the abuse, found on his refrigerator in his Iowa home, along with what authorities say was a child-sized sex doll.
“This case exemplifies our active and tireless pursuit of justice on behalf of minor victims,” said United States Attorney Gregory K. Harris, in a news release. “Predators who groom and sexually exploit our community’s most vulnerable will be investigated and prosecuted, just as Shell was.”
A judge reportedly questioned whether Shell was really remorseful when he apologized.
