A Wedowee man was sentenced to 108 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession of child sexual abuse materials and to the possession of a machine gun and silencer.
Robert Aaron Sheppard, 33, is accused of uploading child sexual abuse materials, including images of nude young girls, to the internet. Digital evidence proved the case.
When law enforcement officers went to investigate, they found a handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device (MCD). Officers also recovered an unmarked and unregistered silencer, which is illegal under federal firearms regulations.
A tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led to the investigation.
Sheppard pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse materials and to the possession of a machinegun and silencer.
After serving nine years behind bars, he will be subject to five years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system.
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