State drops charges against Shelton to clear way for feds

State charges were dismissed Monday against Jeffrey Dean Shelton, the accused kidnapper and convicted sex offender who made his initial appearance in federal court on charges of producing and possessing child pornography involving two Butler County girls.

Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Barbour said he dismissed both the local and Ripley County charges against Shelton. Shelton was indicted Nov. 15 by a federal grand jury on two felony counts of production of child pornography and one felony count of possession of child pornography.

Shelton, who has been held without bond in the Butler County jail since his Oct. 24 arrest, was taken into federal custody at about 8:30 a.m. Monday by members of the U.S. Marshal's Service, according to jail personnel. Shelton was transported to the U.S. District Courthouse in Cape Girardeau, where he made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lewis Blanton, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Abbie Crites-Leoni.

Blanton, she said, set Shelton's arraignment and detention hearing for 3 p.m. today.

"We have asked that he be held" without bond, said Crites-Leoni.

Blanton is expected to make a ruling as to whether Shelton will be detained pending trial and to set a date for pretrial motions in the case, which will "be about 30 days out," Crites-Leoni said.

"We've had extensive discussions with federal authorities" about parallel prosecution of Shelton, said Barbour, who was appointed special prosecutor for Shelton's Ripley County cases and has been coordinating prosecution between his office and federal authorities.

"The best way to expedite their [the federal] case was for us to dismiss [the state charges], which gives them primary jurisdiction at this time … the first crack at him," Barbour said.

The 45-year-old Shelton had been charged in Butler County with two counts of child kidnapping, a count of sexual exploitation of a minor, a count of first-degree assault, a count of first-degree burglary, a count of felonious restraint, a count of armed criminal action and two counts of forcible sodomy.

Shelton was charged in Ripley County with first-degree burglary, second-degree robbery, first-degree child molestation and armed criminal action. The Ripley County cases had been moved to Butler County on a change of venue.

Barbour anticipates the state charges being refiled "almost immediately," within the next few days in both Butler and Ripley counties.

Shelton is accused of kidnapping a 5-year-old girl from her Poplar Bluff home during the early morning hours of Oct. 24. He also is accused of assaulting and restraining his then girlfriend, Christa Whitlock, when she allegedly found the girl in Shelton's home, where he allegedly molested the girl.

The investigation into the case led authorities to Ripley County, where Shelton is accused of assaulting his then girlfriend's father, Curtis Whitlock, after Whitlock allegedly found Shelton with the Poplar Bluff girl in Whitlock's trailer.

Four days before the 5-year-old's kidnapping, authorities say Shelton kidnapped a 10-year-old Qulin, Mo., girl at knife point and took her to Ripley County.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, MO

Qulin, MO