Hickory man sentenced to 6 to 23 years in prison for sexual exploitation

Shawn Curtis Fox, 30, of Hickory, was sentenced to an active prison term of six to 23 years on Wednesday, September 4, in Catawba County Superior Court for three counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. The Honorable Peter Knight, Judge of the Henderson County Superior Court, imposed the sentence after Fox pleaded guilty.

The suspect will serve his prison sentence in the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections and must register as a sex offender for life.

The violations occurred from November 2023 through April of this year and were reported to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office by a predatory watchdog organization. The organization turned over text messages, videos and images related to the suspect’s solicitation of a 13-year-old female victim, which were reviewed by sheriff’s detectives.

Investigators contacted Fox and interviewed him. During that interview, he gave permission to search his cell phone. Images of child pornography were found with victims aged one, three, and thirteen.

Fox is already a registered sex offender after a previous sex offense conviction in Caswell County and was released from prison in January 2023.

Mark Higdon investigated the case for the Sheriff’s Office. Assistant District Attorney Jessica Phillips handled the prosecution with assistance from Legal Assistant Dea Crowe.