A former Brunswick resident, most recently living in Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today in federal court to transferring obscene matter to a minor and obstructing justice, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced in a news release.
According to McElwee, citing court records, in July 2018, Shawn Cook, 42, sent an obscene image to a 15-year-old boy. Cook also offered to send the boy a video of himself having sexual intercourse with his girlfriend. Cook knew at the time he sent the image that the boy was under the age of 16. The boy’s mother found the image on her son’s phone and contacted law enforcement.
Also according to court records, in March of this year, Cook learned that his girlfriend had been contacted by an FBI agent about testifying before a federal grand jury regarding Cook’s actions.
Cook contacted the mother of the boy to whom he had sent the obscene image, and asked her to “just tell them you lied.” He also told her to tell the boy “to keep his mouth shut.”
Cook faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each charge. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Bath Police Department and the FBI investigated the case.
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