SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Eastern), published as received.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment on July 23 against Shane Woodson, 39, formerly of Weaverville, and now living in Wyoming, charging him with receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. 

According to court documents, in 2023, while living in Weaverville, Woodson used a sophisticated peer-to-peer software client to receive hundreds of hours’ worth of video files depicting CSAM. Law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Woodson’s Weaverville residence in 2024 and seized electronic devices containing tens of thousands of additional depictions of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Law enforcement officers also seized a child-sized sex doll from Woodson’s residence.

Law enforcement officers arrested Woodson in Wyoming on July 29, 2026. Woodson appeared in federal court in Sacramento on Aug. 21, 2026, to face the charges in the indictment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stefanki is prosecuting the case.

If convicted of receiving CSAM, Woodson faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. If convicted of possessing CSAM, Woodson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.