2nd child porn sentence for Bronze Star vet from Minnesota

A highly decorated Army veteran from southern Minnesota has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for a second child pornography offense.

Ronald R. Shankey, 50, of Morristown, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis, having pleaded guilty last year to pursuing pornographic images of children from infant age to 12 years old. Along with the prison term, Shankey will remain on supervised release for the rest of his life.

The son of a Vietnam veteran, Shankey enlisted at age 19 in 1984, worked with weapons systems and served along the Iraq-Turkey border.

Shankey served in Operation Desert Storm, when the U.S. ousted Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991. He was awarded two Bronze Star medals, and meritorious service and commendation medals, according to an earlier court filing.

Shankey served a nine-year sentence in Wisconsin for possessing child porn. Prosecutors said that two months after his release, he sent an e-mail in February 2014 seeking to trade graphic images of children. He included examples as attachments. However, the recipient was an undercover officer.

Authorities searched the Morristown home where he lived with his mother and seized about 400 images and nine videos of child porn, many depicting "sadistic or masochistic conduct," according to court records.

Prosecutors asked for a 14-year sentence. The defense urged a 10-year term, noting that Shankey's mental health suffered, leading him to alcohol abuse and pornography addiction.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482