Man gets 120 years for child exploitation

A Butler County man was sentenced Monday to 120 years in federal prison on felony charges related to child exploitation.

According to a news release issued by the U.S. attorney's office in Cape Girardeau, Jeffrey D. Shelton, 46, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., was sentenced on three felony charges that included attempted production of child pornography, production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Shelton appeared before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. and admitted he had fled his Poplar Bluff residence Oct. 24 with a 5-year-old girl he had abducted several hours earlier and left his cellphone in the residence. An examination of the cellphone by police revealed numerous videos of the girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Also discovered were visual depictions of a 10-year-old girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct. During the offenses, Shelton threatened both child victims with serious bodily injury, the release said.

Shelton also admitted to possessing a hard drive that contained more than 200 graphic image files of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The laptop containing the hard drive was found in his vehicle on the afternoon of Oct. 24, when he was arrested by authorities in Poplar Bluff.

Pertinent address: 599 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO