Church Counselor Accused of Videotaping Child Sex

News 3/February 18, 2004
By Steve Crupi

Police say a credit card payment for child porn processed halfway around the globe is what led them to a sex abuse suspect here in Las Vegas. As we first reported, 59-year-old Harold Shaw is under arrest for allegedly video-taping himself having sex with an eleven year old girl. Now, police want to find out if there are additional victims.

Yesterday, a judge ordered Shaw to remain in jail with bail set at 400-thousand dollars.

Many people in Las Vegas know Harold Shaw as a devoted volunteer and camp counselor at a Mormon church. The church is located just a few blocks away from a house where Shaw was arrested last week. Inside the house, police found what looks to them like a kiddie porn studio with a bed covered in stuffed animals and surrounded by cameras. "We need help from the community. Mr. Shaw had contact with a large number of children in Clark County."

Police say a federal investigation of an on-line payment service based in Belarus is what led them to Shaw. Police say they've located and are in the process of interviewing the one alleged victim they've identified so far. And their focus now is looking for others who may have been victimized.

Police say they took a video from Shaw's house that shows him having sex with an 11-year-old girl, who appears to be drugged or intoxicated. Police are still reviewing numerous other tapes taken from the home. The Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Predator last summer. It's a program designed to protect kids from crime.

Operation Predator has three main goals:

• To identify child predators through a partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This links state sex offender registries so local cops can more easily find convicted sexual predators.


• The system also makes it easier for police to investigate crimes against kids. For example it contains all known images of child pornography and helps local law enforcement agencies link that information to identify possible victims.


• Thirdly, Operation Predator focuses on removing those criminals from situations with kids... especially if they are illegal aliens involved in taking kids across the border.