Sheoships to serve 7+ years for possessing child porn
By Terry Murry on Friday, November 8th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PORTLAND – A former officer for the Umatilla Tribal Police Department has been sentenced to 87 months in a federal prison and five years’ supervised release. Cameron Jacob Sheoships, 57, agreed to plead guilty to one county of possessing child pornography on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Sheoships’ prior guilty plea included a pattern enhancement for repeated sexual abuse of a minor that began in the 1990s.
Court documents reflect that in August 2022, the FBI received a tip that suspected child pornography had been traced to the Umatilla Indian Reservation. By mid-September of that year, investigators received additional tips associated with Google and Twitter (now X) that were later linked to Sheoships.
Court records show that in May of last year, the FBI executed federal search warrants on Sheoships’ residence and person. At that time, numerous photos and videos depicting sexual abuse of children were found on the suspect’s cellphone. On June 13, 2023, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging him with the crime. He pleaded guilty to that single charge on April 24, 2024.
