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A Connersville photographer faces multiple federal charges after authorities said they found him in possession of hundreds of sexually explicit photo and video images of children that he produced.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Mikell Shepard, 22, has been charged by federal complaint with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography.
No attorney was listed as counsel for Shepard in a search of case documents.
According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 23, Homeland Security Investigations Indianapolis received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The report included investigative findings submitted by Google, which identified content in Shepard’s account believed to depict sexually explicit images and videos of minor children.
Google reviewed and flagged more than 400 files allegedly showing minors engaged in sexual acts, as well as over 1,000 files depicting the lascivious exhibition of the genitals of minors, authorities said.
On October 24, 2025, law enforcement executed a state search warrant at Shepard’s residence. Investigators said they discovered sexually explicit images and videos of minors allegedly produced by Shepard in both professional and personal settings, including while babysitting.
These images reportedly include both female and male children, as young as 9 months old. The images and videos date from as recently as October 2025, with some files from the summer of 2024.
Publicly available information lists Shepard as the owner of Shepard Photography and Boudoir by Shepard. His Facebook account advertises him as a professional photographer who “works well with families, children, and infants.”
Authorities said Shepard has been known to babysit several children and has photographed children at a daycare, skating rink, and a gymnastics center in or near Connersville. Investigators believe there may be additional victims.
Federal authorities are asking anyone who believes a child may have been victimized by Shepard to contact the Fayette County/Connersville Police non-emergency dispatch at (765) 825-2111.
Shepard was scheduled to be transported from the Fayette County Jail to federal custody.
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