A former Seattle tech worker has been sentenced to a 30-year prison term for her involvement in the creation and promotion of a website advocating for incest and child sexual abuse. The 40-year-old woman, Shabnam Dawn Pilisuk, was convicted on multiple federal felony charges including the aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, the production and possession of child pornography, and the transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice.
At the sentencing, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin addressed Pilisuk, stating, as per the U.S. Department of Justice, "You committed one of the most heinous crimes, committed against the most vulnerable members of the community: children." The investigation that led to Pilisuk's conviction began with a Seattle Police detective uncovering the distressing content of the website in question. It was subsequently discovered that Pilisuk not only built and maintained the website but also engaged in direct abuse of a child, traveling with an 11-year-old whom she sexually abused.
In March 2019, authorities issued a search warrant on Pilisuk's home, where they found electronic devices holding images of child sexual abuse. The jury convicted Pilisuk in March 2023, after a four-day trial, following revelations that she had been sexually exploiting at least one minor since they were 11 years old.
Assistant United States Attorney Matt Hampton and Special Assistant United States Attorney Laura Harmon handled the prosecution, with Harmon noting the gravity of the crimes. "The seriousness of Pilisuk’s crimes cannot be overstated: she raped and molested a child..., made (the child) available for like-minded friends to also abuse (the child), and organized an online community in support of incest and child sexual abuse," Harmon wrote, per the U.S. Department of Justice. Pilisuk has remained in custody since her arrest in 2021 and will now face the consequences of her actions as the criminal proceedings draw to a close.
