Wife of U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced to Prison for Obstruction of Justice

The wife of a U.S. Army soldier was sentenced today to three years in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, the maximum statutory sentenced allowed under the law for obstruction of justice, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon Jr. of the Eastern District of North Carolina announced. 

Shanynn Kemp, 52, of Cameron, North Carolina, pleaded guilty on Dec. 11, 2019, to one count of obstruction of justice before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Terrence W. Boyle of the Eastern District of North Carolina, who sentenced Kemp earlier today and remanded her to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

According to facts presented in the guilty plea hearing, Shanynn Kemp’s husband, Daniel Kemp Sr., was employed by the U.S. Army as an active duty member when he forcibly raped a minor victim.  After an investigation into the aggravated sexual assault was underway, Shanynn Kemp intentionally harassed and dissuaded a witness from disclosing to law enforcement information about the sexual offense.  Daniel Kemp Sr. was sentenced to life in prison on July 8.

The investigation of the case was conducted by U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the FBI.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charity Wilson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.