Man Convinced Girl To Send Explicit Photos Of Her Sisters: Feds

CARTERSVILLE, GA — A Bartow County man has entered a guilty plea to producing child pornography after he convinced an underage girl to send photos of the child's younger sisters. Shawn Ryan Budovic pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court and faces a 25-year prison sentence, the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia said.

Budovic posed as an online predator who targeted "very young children for sexual exploitation," said U.S. Attorney BJay Pak.

“His conduct is especially egregious because he preyed upon a group of siblings, potentially causing irreparable harm to the victims individually and to the family collectively," Pak added.

According to federal prosecutors, Budovic used Kik, a mobile messaging app, to meet his former girlfriend when she was a minor. The Cartersville resident struck up a relationship with the girl and over time, groomed her to believe that his sexual interest in children was "normal," the U.S. attorney's office said.

Budovic told the girl of his sexual interest in young children and even sent her photos of child pornography. Federal prosecutors say Budovic asked the girl to send sexually explicit photos of her younger siblings, who were as young as 3, 5 and 9.

"At Budovic’s urging, the minor girlfriend ultimately sent him multiple sexually explicit photos of her three-year-old and nine-year-old sisters," Pak's office notes.

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Homeland Security Investigations agents found pornographic photos of the children on Budovic’s phone when they executed a search warrant at his home. Budovic, 28, will be sentenced on July 13.

This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolee Porter is prosecuting the case.

“Individuals responsible for producing child pornography steal the innocence of children and further their re-victimization each time the evidence of that exploitation is shared online,” said Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan. “This case shows HSI investigators are actively working to identity and disrupt the trade of these illegal images, and also to identify and seek prosecution of the criminals who produce and possess them.”

Photo: Shawn Ryan Budovic. Credit: Bartow County Jail