Former Seattle tech worker sentenced to 30 years in prison for child sexual abuse
Oct 3, 2024, 10:25 AM | Updated: Oct 4, 2024, 5:08 pm
A gavel. (Photo: Joe Gratz via Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo: Joe Gratz via Flickr Creative Commons)
A 40-year-old Seattle woman was sentenced to 30 years in prison for five federal felonies related to child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman announced Wednesday. The investigation found that Shabnam Dawn Pilisuk had traveled with an 11-year-old and sexually molested the child.
Pilisuk was convicted after a four-day jury trial in March 2023.
According to case records, a Seattle Police detective discovered a website discussing incest and child abuse, revealing Pilisuk as the founder and operator. The website is no longer active.
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At the sentencing, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin told Pilisuk, “You committed one of the most heinous crimes, committed against the most vulnerable members of the community: children.”
In March 2019, Seattle Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a search warrant at Pilisuk’s Seattle home, seizing electronic devices that contained images of child sexual abuse. In November 2021, a victim disclosed abuse that began when the child was 11 years old.
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The jury convicted Pilisuk of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under 12, production of child pornography, two counts of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and possession of child pornography.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Harmon requested a 45-year sentence, stating, “The seriousness of Pilisuk’s crimes cannot be overstated: she raped and molested a child, made the child available for like-minded friends to also abuse, and organized an online community in support of incest and child sexual abuse.”
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.
Pilisuk has been in custody since her 2021 arrest.
Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X and email him here.
