On Wednesday, April 25, 2018, MICHAEL SHANE TYSON, d/o/b 11-14-1975, of Hollister, pleaded guilty to one (1) count of statutory sodomy first degree, one (1) count of statutory rape first degree, eight (8) counts of sexual exploitation of a minor child and one (1) count of possession of child pornography, in the Circuit Court of Taney County, Missouri. Tyson appeared in custody before Christian County Circuit Judge Jennifer Growcock and admitted to having sexual intercourse and committing acts of sodomy on a minor child. Judge Growcock accepted Tyson’s guilty pleas, ordered a sentencing assessment report to be conducted, and scheduled sentencing for June 28, 2018.

On April 7, 2015, officers from the Hollister Police Department responded to Cox Hospital in reference to a report of a past child molestation. The responding officer made contact with the mother of the child who advised the officer that her child had disclosed that the defendant, the mother’s boyfriend, had been hurting the child. The mother further discovered that the defendant had also been sexually abusing the child. A few days later the child was interviewed at the Lakes Area Child Advocacy Center. During that interview, the child disclosed that the defendant had engaged in several acts of sodomy and rape. The child also disclosed that the defendant recorded some of these incidents on his phone.

On April 10, 2015, based on the disclosures of the child, officers from the Hollister Police Department executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence. During the search of the residence, officers found an abundance of sex toys and several electronic devices. Detective Sanders of the Hollister Police Department sent those electronic devices to MOCIC (Mid-States Organized Crime Information Center) for review. Analysts at MOCIC later advised Detective Sanders that several images and videos of child pornography were found on the defendant’s electronic devices.

Statutory sodomy in the first degree committed between 2012 and 2015 was an unclassified felony with a range of punishment for life imprisonment or for a term of years not less than ten (10) years. Statutory rape in the first degree committed between 2012 and 2015 was an unclassified felony with a range of punishment for life imprisonment or for a term of years not less than ten (10) years. Sexual exploitation of a minor child committed between 2012 and 2015 was a class A felony with a range of punishment of not less than ten (10) years and not to exceed thirty (30) years, or life imprisonment. Possession of child pornography committed in 2015 was a class C felony with a range of punishment of two (2) to seven (7) years and a $5,000 fine. Pursuant to a plea agreement with the Taney County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Tyson’s sentence is set at twenty (20) years in prison for the aforementioned State charges, and the Prosecutor’s Office will argue for Tyson’s sentence to run consecutively to a thirty (30) year federal sentence Tyson is currently serving. This case was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Shana Mora.