HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a Crawford County man has been sentenced to 20 to 50 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material — his second conviction for such conduct.
Chad Allen Shelatz, 51, of Linesville, previously pleaded guilty to 20 counts of felony possession of child sexual abuse material.
A Crawford County Judge ordered the sentence, followed by five years on probation, on Tuesday, which included an order that Shelatz register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
“This sentence ensures that a repeat offender will not be able to continue to exploit and abuse children,” Attorney General Sunday said. “I applaud our agents for a proactive investigation that stopped this offender’s behavior.”
The investigation began in June 2025, after a CyberTip indicated that a person uploaded, viewed, or and/or accessed one suspected image of child sexual abuse material in May 2025. The IP address led investigators to Shelatz’s Crawford County residence where a search warrant was executed. Agents seized multiple electronic devices belonging to Shelatz that contained dozens of files depicting child sexual abuse material.
This case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Alison Bragle of the Child Predator Section.
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