PIGGOTT, AR – Scott Ellington, Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District, announces that Shane I. Thompson of Piggott, Arkansas, entered a guilty plea on September 19 in the Circuit Court of Clay County, Eastern District. His plea involved four counts of Distributing, Possessing, and Viewing Matter Depicting Sexually Explicit Conduct Involving a Child. He was sentenced to 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction on Count one and ten years in the Arkansas Department of Correction on Count two. These sentences will run consecutively for a total of 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. On Counts 3 and 4 he received 120 months suspended imposition of sentence. He was assessed costs, and a cyber-crime fee of $500. He was ordered to register as a sex offender upon release from the Arkansas Department of Correction.
In October, 2017, the Arkansas State Police began an investigation of Shane I. Thompson after receiving a Cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A search warrant was issued for the Defendant’s home and executed on April 13, 2018. During the search of his home, the Arkansas State Police recovered multiple digital devices from the Defendant. These devices contained explicit child pornography. In an interview conducted by the Arkansas State Police, the Defendant confessed to possessing these images.
“I would like to thank Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charlene Henry, Cybercrimes Prosecutor for the Second Judicial District, for her hard work in the prosecution of this case. The Second Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office would like to thank Agent Ramey Lovan and Agent Mark Vavak of the Arkansas State Police for their work in this case. The Second Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will continue to take a tough stance on the users and distributors of child pornography in our community, to protect our children from the devastating physical, social, and psychological effects of these crimes,” Ellington added.