MONROE — A Juda man arrested on child porn charges last week signed a $20,000 signature bond at his initial appearance May 13 in Green County Circuit Court.
Shad Joseph Hanson, 21, faces six Class C felony counts of child sexual exploitation and nine Class D felony counts of possessing child pornography. Class C and Class D felonies carry 40- and 25-year maximum prison sentences, respectively. State law dictates a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for convictions of possessing child porn.
Hanson’s conditions of bond include no direct or indirect contact with children and no access to social media.
The criminal complaint against him, filed Monday, alleges Hanson shared sexually explicit photos and videos involving prepubescent children as young as toddlers.
The investigation into Hanson began with a “cybertip” in December, provided to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and subsequently to the Internet Crimes Against Children unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.
In February, a detective with the Green County Sheriff’s Office received an assignment to investigate the case.
Through warrants and subpoenas, and in coordination with state agents, the detective gained access to online accounts associated with the IP address at Hanson’s home on Brunkow Road in rural Juda.
Hanson shared photos and videos of child porn through the social media app Snapchat under the username “shenison2,” the detective found. Hanson also shared selfie photos and identifying details about himself, like his age and that he lived with his grandparents and had attended Rockford College.
The chat logs for the “shenison2” account contained a “large quantity of child pornography,” according to the detective’s report.
The chat logs also revealed conversations in which “shenison2” indicated a preference for a “baby lover” and that he wanted to adopt an infant for the purpose of sexually assaulting the child, the detective found. “Shenison2” also mentioned an interest in incest and that he had already sexually assaulted a child several years earlier.
In one chat, “Shenison2” shared a pornographic photo of a toddler, followed by the comment, “I got that offline.” The detective interpreted this to mean that Hanson had possibly taken the photo and the toddler “could be a victim of assault” by Hanson, but the report does not indicate whether this was substantiated.
According to the criminal complaint, police seized seven pairs of small boys underwear hidden in Hanson’s closet, along with a digital storage card and smartphone containing child porn, during a search of Hanson’s home Friday, May 10.
Interviewed by police the same day, Hanson acknowledged the devices were his. He initially denied viewing or sharing child pornography, then said he engaged in “fantasy” talk with other SnapChat users. He denied ever being “hands-on” with children.
His preliminary hearing is May 29.