Paroled Amboy registered sexual predator now charged with possessing child pornography

DIXON – An Amboy registered sexual predator, on parole for sexually abusing a 15-year-old when he was 19, now has been charged in Lee County with possessing one or more lewd photos of a girl younger than 18.

Investigators determined that Ethan Elmer Shaw, 27, produced the images of the teenager as early as Aug. 1, 2021. He was paroled from the Illinois River Correctional Center in Canton 14 months earlier, on May 29, 2020, court records show.

The photos were found on Shaw’s phone during a visit to his parole officer on Jan. 18, State’s Attorney Charley Boonstra said.

Shaw was put back into Illinois Department of Corrections custody for the potential parole violation, the charges were filed Thursday, and he was brought to the Lee County Jail on Friday.

He has been charged with three counts of possession of child pornography. He faces two to five years and a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000, up to $100,000, on each count, plus revocation of his parole and resentencing to IDOC for up to the full term of his conviction.

He is being held on $100,000 bond and has a hearing June 20.

According to online Lee County Court and Illinois State Police records, Shaw previously was charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a child aged 13 to 16 on March 3, June 1 and Sept. 24, 2015, although presumably of the same child.

He pleaded guilty on April 28, 2016, was sentenced to four years in prison and required to register as a sexual predator.

One count of criminal sexual assault using force was dismissed as part of his plea agreement.

At the same time, Shaw also was serving five years for a Johnson County conviction for possession of a weapon in a penal institution. Shawnee Correctional Center is in Johnson County.