A 46-year-old St Joseph man will serve more than eight years in prison for his guilty plea to child pornography charges. U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips announced Thursday that Andrew Shea was sentenced to eight years and six months in federal prison.

According to court documents, law enforcement investigators found more than 30 videos and 40 still images of the sexual abuse of children on Shea’s computer, including an image of a prepubescent girl in a dog collar engaged in bestiality and some images depicting the sexual abuse of boys the same age as his son. Shea used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to obtain his collection of child pornography.

Shea pleaded guilty to charges of possessing, receiving and attempting to distribute child porn.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.