Ottawa woman faces up to 30 years prison for sharing child sexual abuse image

An Ottawa woman faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to disseminating child sexual abuse images.

Shahnaz M. Baugher, 32, also listed as a resident of Harvard, Illinois, appeared Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court and entered a blind plea to one count of dissemination of child sexual abuse images, a Class X felony carrying six to 30 years in prison with no possibility of probation.

Baugher will have an opportunity to address La Salle County Circuit Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia at sentencing set for Nov. 15. There is no agreement or “cap” on how much time prosecutors will seek at sentencing.

She was charged in spring 2022, a few months after the Ottawa Police Department Investigations Division began an investigation into a person in reported to have possession of child sexual abuse images, based on a Cybertip received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Initially, the investigation led police to an Ottawa man. Shain M. Sennott, 41, later pleaded guilty to multiple counts and was sentenced to back-to-back prison sentences totaling 13 years. He is scheduled for release from the Illinois Department of Corrections in late 2031.

The investigation showed Sennott had been in contact with Baugher, who transmitted the unlawful image. To date, there has been no motive disclosed in open court.