A man who lived about an hour southwest of Murfreesboro in Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, has been sentenced to federal prison. The sentencing occured late last week for the subject who was previously convicted on child exploitation charges, announced U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis. 44-Year-old Clinton Shawn Gransden was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the production, receipt, transportation, and possession of child pornography, followed by supervised release for life.
Over the course of several months in 2019, Gransden repeatedly provided a minor teenage girl with alcohol, methamphetamines, and cocaine. While she was under the influence of those substances, he filmed the victim performing sex acts with him and others, and otherwise controlled and degraded her. Gransden also forced a prepubescent girl to perform oral sex on him.
The sexual abuse videos that Gransden created were posted online, where individuals acquainted with the teenage victim saw them and reported the crime to the authorities. Investigators searched Gransden's electronic devices and discovered the sexual abuse videos as well as evidence that Gransden had sent the videos to others. Investigators also found evidence that Gransden downloaded and possessed child pornography depicting the victims.
The case that began under the Maury County Sheriff’s Department in 2019, quickly grew as more and more evidence was gathered. The investigation started with a classmate of a victim who went to school officials, who in turn notified a Maury County School Resource Officer. As evidence mounted, so did the potential charges, ultimately landing the investigation in the hands of federal authorities.
A federal grand jury indicted Gransden on nine counts of producing child pornography and one count each of transporting, receiving, and possessing child pornography. On February 2, 2023, Gransden pleaded guilty to all the charges.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the Maury County Sherriff’s Office investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Carran Daughtrey and Trial Attorneys Austin M. Berry and Adam Braskich of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
The case against Gransden’s co-defendants Angel Morales Depasquale and Michelle E. Klen remain pending and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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