LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Editor's note: This story contains information about child sexual abuse and may not be suitable for all readers.
A former Louisville teaching assistant was sentenced Thursday to over 36 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting multiple underage girls.
Shawn Riedesel, 29, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was sentenced to 440 months followed by 25 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $69,000 in restitution to his victims.
Riedesel will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, Riedesel enticed and coerced at least three underage girls to produce and send sexually explicit images and videos. He met at least one girl for sex multiple times.
While he was committing these crimes, Riedesel began a teacher preparation program at Bellarmine University through Teach Kentucky. He lived in a dorm room.
A Bellarmine University spokesperson said Friday Riedesel was not enrolled as a student.
In June 2022, a witness learned of inappropriate electronic communication between Riedesel and a 15-year-old Indiana girl over a school computer. The girl told him she was 15, and she believed he was 19.
The witness used the child's email account to continue the conversation. Riedesel indicated he and the victim had sex in the past and he was willing to help her run away from home.
The investigation revealed Riedesel crossed state lines multiple times to have sex with the 15-year-old girl. These encounters sometimes lasted days, and took place at an Indiana hotel, her parents' house and a church.
Riedesel also picked up the child and took her to his dorm room in Louisville to have sex.
Riedesel was arrested in July 2022 when he arrived at the girl's home. Indiana State Police found thousands of sexually explicit images on his devices of numerous children.
Investigators also found sexually explicit electronic conversations between Riedesel and other underage girls.
“Pedophiles like this would-be teacher use technology to find, groom, and exploit our children—from across the river and across the country,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “This time, investigators were able to accesses the digital evidence needed to identify additional victims and secure a serious federal prison sentence. However, many companies are designing their technology to make it impossible to conduct court-authorized searches—hampering our ability to rescue children and hold sexual predators accountable. Together with our law enforcement partners at the FBI and Indiana State Police, our office will continue to do all we can to secure necessary evidence and make our children safer by removing these heinous offenders from our communities.”
The FBI and Indiana State Police investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
