Volusia County Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Entice and Use a 13-Year-Old Child to Produce Sexually Explicit Photos

Jacksonville, Florida - Shane Christopher Abrams (38, Deland) has been sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan to 15 years in federal prison for attempting to entice and use a 13-year-old minor to produce and send him photos depicting her own sexual abuse. Abrams was also ordered to serve a 15-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. Abrams pleaded guilty on March 5, 2026. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, on April 3, 2024, an undercover FBI agent posing as a 13-year-old child (the "child") engaged in text conversation on a particular social media application ("app") with another app user who was subsequently identified as Abrams. During this conversation, the "child" advised that she was 13 years old, and Abrams began asking questions about her body and sexual experience. Between April 4 and April 20, 2024, Abrams and the "child" exchanged numerous text messages. Abrams solicited the "child" to produce and send him photos of her genitalia, giving the "child" explicit instructions as to how to comply with his demands. As part of his efforts to entice the "child" to take and send him sexually explicit photos, Abrams sent the "child" photos of his own genitalia. On May 20, 2024, Abrams was arrested by FBI agents.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case 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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify, rescue, and seek justice for child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.