News Releases

Former Fort Worth physician sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography
Doctor faces deportation proceedings after he serves his prison sentence

DALLAS - A former Fort Worth physician who had resided in Southlake, Texas, and currently lives in Houston, was sentenced here Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 42 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper, Northern District of Texas; the case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Dr. James Shin, 46, pleaded guilty in July to possessing child pornography.

Dr. Shin is also known as Young Jin Shin and James Young-Jin Shin. According to the hospital's website at the time he entered his guilty plea, Dr. Shin was the Chair of the Internal Medicine Department at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.

Judge Kinkeade also ordered Dr. Shin to serve a lifetime of supervised release following his release from prison and register as a sex offender. He must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by Jan. 6. ICE will commence deportation proceedings for Dr. Shin's return to South Korea after he completes his prison sentence.

According to documents filed in Court, Dr. Shin admitted that in September 2007, he used the Internet to download and possess images and videos of minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Based on an investigative lead from the ICE Cyber Crime Center in Washington, D.C., ICE special agents visited Shin's Southlake residence on Sept. 13, 2007, and Dr. Shin allowed the agents to search his computer. A computer forensic exam revealed numerous images and videos of child pornography, which included visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Shin admitted he knowingly possessed and acquired the images and videos of child pornography on his computer from public newsgroups on the Internet and that he viewed child pornography. Some of the pictures on Shin's computer contained images of children that have been identified through other law enforcement investigations throughout the nation.

"Although those convicted of possessing, transporting or producing child pornography come from all walks of life, their traumatized victims are from just one group - innocent children," said John Chakwin Jr., special agent in charge of the ICE office of Investigations in Dallas. "Our ICE agents work closely with our law enforcement partners - including the U.S. Attorney's Office - to give these children a voice, and to ensure that justice is served." Chakwin oversees 128 counties in north Texas and the State of Oklahoma.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit: www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This investigation was also part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 11,500 individuals, including 1,160 in Texas.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative efforts of ICE. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis prosecuted the case.