Shawn Rowlett, 45 years old of Jonesboro and formerly of Ravenden Springs was sentenced to 30 years in a Federal Prison and given Probation For Life after pleading guilty. Rowlett agreed to the maximum sentence for the production of child pornography, the sentence was a negotiated plea with federal prosecutors and state prosecutors, charges pending in Lawrence and Craighead were agreed to be dropped if Rowlett agreed to plea guilty and accept the maximum sentence.
Rowlett was indicted in Jan. 2012 on the production of child pornography and possession of child pornography after federal officials received a report in connection with a December 2011 incident involving Rowlett and a teenage girl. Rowlett was charged in Lawrence County with rape, the incident happened in Strawberry at a hunting cabin, Rowlett raped, molested and took nude photographs of the victim. The indictment alleged that Rowlett enticed the girl into engaging in sexually explicit conduct and making visual depictions of the conduct on more than one occasion which occurred between December 2009 and December 2010.
According to the indictment, Rowlett’s wife caught him molesting the girl in 2011, she then reported the incident to authorities. She also reportedly took cell phones, computers and external hard drives to law enforcement. Investigators used special software to unearth more than 250 graphic images of child pornography from the devices, official reports state that most were of the victim. Included in the affidavit was a statement from an investigator saying that Rowlett was on video engaging in sex acts with the minor female.
Shawn Rowlett was held in the Lawrence County Jail until his sentencing hearing in a Little Rock courtroom by U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall who ordered the 30 year sentence, life on probation and Rowlett must register as a sex offender.
For more information on the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, visit www.lawrencecountysheriffsoffice.com .
