Ottawa woman gets 6 years in prison for sharing digital child sexual abuse images

An Ottawa woman was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison for disseminating child sexual abuse images.

“It’s a despicable, intolerable event that we have to take seriously.”

—  Jeremiah Adams, assistant state's attorney

When offered a chance to speak, 33-year-old Shahnaz M. Baugher clutched a facial tissue and declined an opportunity to address Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan.

Her sentence was dictated by statute. The punishment for disseminating child sexual abuse images is six to 30 years with no possibility of probation.

“Do I see a need to go above the six-year minimum?” Ryan said. “She has no criminal history to warrant to justify a push.”

Baugher, also listed as a resident of Harvard, entered a blind plea Sept. 20, and with no agreement or “cap” limiting how much time prosecutors would seek.

She was charged in spring 2022, a few months after the Ottawa Police Department Investigations Division began an investigation into a person reported to have possession of child sexual abuse images, based on a cybertip received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Initially, the investigation led police to an Ottawa man. Shain M. Sennott, 41, who later pleaded guilty to multiple counts and was sentenced to back-to-back prison sentences totaling 13 years. He is scheduled for release from the Illinois Department of Corrections in late 2031.

At Baugher’s sentencing Thursday, Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Jeremiah Adams asked for an eight-year sentence. While he acknowledged Baugher acted under “strong provocation” by Sennott, Adams said a lengthy sentence was necessary to deter other would-be offenders.

“It’s a despicable, intolerable event that we have to take seriously,” Adams said

In response, defense attorney William Wolf said Sennott wasn’t merely a provocateur but a “predator” who goaded Baugher into committing the offense.

Wolf said Sennott had a long history of preying on children and vulnerable women and found an easy mark in Baugher, who was coming off a bout of homelessness fueled by a life of being physically, mentally and sexually abused, and gravitated to Sennott’s initial acts of kindness.

“He seemed like an angel at first,” Wolf said, “despite the monster that he was and is.”

After securing Baugher’s trust, Wolf said, Sennott “bombarded her” with lurid images until she relented and identified one she found alluring.

“She didn’t want to lose him,” Wolf said regarding why Baugher didn’t remove herself from the relationship.