Arraignment set in Bland County child porn case

By JEFFREY SIMMONS/Staff

A Bland County woman accused of sending child pornography, including some images she created, to a Wyoming sex offender she met through a social networking site set up for cell phone users, police said.

Jessica Shockley, 23, will be arraigned on federal charges of producing and distributing child pornography on Thursday in Casper, Wyo.

The Bland resident was arrested on Jan. 26 after police accused her of molesting an infant, taking photographs and then sending the images to the cell phone of 49-year-old James Eugene Hawkins of Rock Springs, Wyo.

Hawkins has already pleaded guilty to receiving the images and could face up to 40 years in prison when he’s sentenced.

Before federal prosecutors took over the case, Rock Springs police investigated and charged Hawkins with similar offenses, which were later dismissed.

According to Rock Springs Police Department Detective Erica East, Hawkins, who was on probation for an earlier Wyoming conviction of immoral or indecent acts with a minor, wasn’t supposed to have a cell phone. He did, though, and police got a tip that he had child porn on the phone, she said.

“There were numerous child porn images on there,” she said.

Police believe that Shockley, who has two children, sent Hawkins images that she produced and images she got from other places.

The two apparently met through a mobile social networking site similar to Facebook, East said. There was no evidence, however, that they had ever met in person.

Investigators traced Shockely’s number to Virginia, and she was arrested by federal authorities.

Although she hasn’t been charged yet, Shockley is also facing similar local charges, police have said.

If convicted of both federal charges, she could face up to 50 years in prison. At Thursday’s hearing, Shockley will likely work out attorney arrangements and possibly bond, a spokesman said.

Jeffrey Simmons can be reached at 1-800-655-1406 or jsimmons@wythenews.com.