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A former Perry County man is sentenced to 40 years in prison for sexually exploiting minors
By: WOUB News Team
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A former Perry County resident was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison for sexually exploiting at least four minors.
According to court documents, Shannon “Michael” McTighe, 46, who lived in Thornville, possessed 300,000 images and videos of child pornography on his electronic devices.
The content also included newly created material that depicted McTighe sexually abusing four minor victims to whom he had access. The abuse of one victim began when she was 7 years old.
McTighe pleaded guilty in February to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography.
“McTighe committed horrific hands-on offenses against four young girls and amassed hundreds of thousands of videos and images of child sexual abuse,” U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II said in a news release. “Putting this defendant in federal prison for the next 40 years protects these victims from further abuse and online exploitation.”
This case is 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 U.S. attorney’s offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute people who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.