A Temple man has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for production and possession of child pornography.
Fifty-one-year-old Shozo "Sho" Tanaka was sentenced in Waco Wednesday morning. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Jude Alan Albright ordered that Tanaka pay a $10,000 assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Judge Albright also ordered that Tanaka be placed on supervised release for the remainder of his life after completing his prison term.
“The 40-year sentence imposed in this case is a just punishment for the unconscionable abuse of a child. Our office does nothing more important than prosecuting predators to make sure they can never hurt children again,” stated U.S. Attorney Bash.
On August 6, 2019, Tanaka pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count possession of child pornography.
Court records show that from August 2014 to June 2018, Tanaka coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual images of such activity.
On November 19, 2018, officers with the Temple Police Department executed a search warrant at Tanaka's address. At that location, authorities seized numerous electronic items and storage devices. A subsequent forensics review of the seized materials revealed numerous videos that contained video of footage of the minor victim being sexually assaulted by the defendant.
Tanaka has remained in custody since November 19, 2018.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Temple Police Department.
