Maryland man indicted on child sex abuse charges

An Anne Arundel County man is facing charges for alleged child sex abuse crimes, according to the Maryland State's Attorney's Office. 

Shawn Livingston, 38, was charged with two counts of coercion and enticement of minors and 12 counts of receiving child sex abuse material, according to the indictment. 

According to court officials, Livingston is an information technology professional who previously worked for a private school in Annapolis. 

The indictment claims that Livingston used several Snapchat accounts to meet and talk with minors beginning in 2022. He used the accounts to coerce and entice the minors into sending him photos and videos of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct in exchange for money. 

Livingston allegedly sent payments through apps like CashApp and Venmo, court documents show. 

According to charging documents, he was arrested in December after the Diplomatic Security Service became aware of a large network of individuals based in India who were believed to be selling child sex abuse material over social media. The agency identified and began investigating U.S.-based buyers who paid or attempted to pay the sellers, including Livingston. 

During the investigation, officials determined that Livingston's date of birth and social security number were associated with PayPal and Venmo accounts and records, according to charging documents. 

An in-depth look at his PayPal activity and Google search history revealed phrases related to the purchasing of child sex abuse materials and searches for social media accounts of known female victims, police documents show. 

According to the indictment, Livingston received explicit content depicting at least five minors between the ages of 15 and 16. 

The investigation is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Justice Department to combat child exploitation and abuse. 

If convicted, court officials said Livingston could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

WJZ has reached out to Livingston's attorney for a statement.