SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI
A 38-year-old Tulsa doctor was sentenced in federal court to 15 years in federal prison after he sent sexually explicit photographs of himself and attempting to meet with teen to have sex with him, according to officials.
U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool sentenced Shelby J. Coleman this week to 15 years and eight months without parole.
On Jan. 12, 2016, Coleman plead guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child. Coleman, a medical doctor and partner of Tulsa Women’s Health Center, has been in federal custody since his arrest in September 2013, according to officials.
Coleman admitted that he communicated with a 16-year-old minor in Laclede County, Mo., identified as John Doe, via cell phone texts. At Coleman’s request, John Doe sent him multiple sexually explicit images of himself.
When John Doe’s father discovered the text messages, he contacted the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A state trooper assumed the identity of John Doe for the purpose of the investigation.
On Sept. 28, 2013, Coleman was apprehended by investigators after he traveled to Springfield, Mo., in order to meet John Doe for a sexual liaison.