LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Lynchburg man could spend the rest of his life in prison in connection with child pornography charges that were brought against him in 2016.
On Monday, a Lynchburg jury found 46-year-old Shawn Kearns guilty of one count of possession of child pornography and 92 counts of possession of child pornography.
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Nearly seven years ago, on July 7, 2016, the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children task force was alerted about a local computer that was involved in the possession and the possible distribution of child pornography through the use of peer-to-peer software.
After investigating further, authorities were able to trace it back to a townhome on Old Forest Road, the home of Shawn Kearns and his wife.
On Aug. 17, 2016, Lynchburg Police executed a search warrant on his home and retrieved all electronic devices from the residence so that they could be analyzed by the digital forensics unit. Authorities say a laptop that was found in the basement of the home had 22 video files and hundreds of image files containing child sexual abuse material.
On the computer’s hard drive, investigators also found a reoccurring pattern of the user searching for, downloading and watching child sexual abuse material for at least two years prior to the execution of the search warrant.
More specifically, officers discovered that the computer was being used on Aug. 17 to download and view child pornography, the same day the search warrant was executed. Digital records showed that at about 4:40 a.m., less than two hours before they arrived, an attempt had been made to wipe the hard drive.
On Monday, Kearns was found guilty by a Lynchburg jury and is currently facing up to 935 years in prison.
He is set to be sentenced on Oct. 18 at 9 a.m.