Austin Man Indicted for Production of Child Pornography

MINNEAPOLIS - Shadow Hawk Mallan, age 28, of Austin, Minnesota, was arraigned on an indictment charging him with three counts of Production of Child Pornography, one count of Interstate Communications with Intent to Extort, one count of Receipt of Child Pornography, one count of Possession of Child Pornography, and one count of Commission of a Felony Offenses Involving a Minor when Required to Register as a Sex Offender, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.

According to state and federal court documents, Mallan owned multiple Snapchat, Discord, and other social media and email accounts that he used to solicit minor victims across the world to receive sexually explicit photographs and videos from them. Mallan also engaged in live video chats with the minor victims, which he recorded and saved. Mallan then threatened the minor victims if they refused to continue sending him sexually explicit material, including threats of physical violence and to distribute the sexually explicit material to their friends and families. To date, evidence shows that Mallan solicited hundreds of minors online over several years. Law enforcement has identified approximately thirteen minor victims. Mallan was previously convicted of Solicitation of a Child to Engage in Sexual Conduct in 2020 in Mower County, Minnesota and was required to register as predatory offender throughout the time of his charged offense.

"As alleged in this indictment, Shadow Hawk Mallan was a registered sex offender who used the worldwide reach of the Internet to continue sexually exploiting children, even after a prior conviction," said FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson. "Not satisfied with the harm caused by the sexual exploitation of children, Mr. Mallan allegedly deepened the psychological damage caused by threatening to distribute child sexual abuse material depicting his child victims to their friends and family. The FBI and our state and local law enforcement partners work diligently every day to protect child victims and bring child predators to justice."

Mallan made his initial appearance in District Court and was ordered detained pending trial.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Austin Police Department.

Investigators believe there may be other victims relevant to this investigation. As alleged in the indictment and elsewhere, the defendant used Snapchat ID "ps4programer420," Discord ID "kushklouds420," and several other online accounts to commit the alleged offenses. If you or your child believe you have been a victim of Shadow Hawk Mallan, we encourage you to contact 800-CALL-FBI or report to tips.fbi.gov.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrie J. Schneider is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.