Christian rock singer Kelly Shannon has managed to avoid jail despite allegedly downloading child sex abuse images and falsely accusing a 13 year-old boy of rape (Pictures: YouTube)

A twisted Christian rock singer has avoided jail for downloading child sex abuse images and falsely accusing a 13 year-old boy of rape.

Kelly Shannon, 48, was sentenced to five years prison, with the entire sentence suspended or to be served on home confinement after she pleaded no contest to her crimes Monday.

The evangelical crooner, from Warwick in Rhode Island, was able to get a child pornography charge dismissed as part of a plea deal which saw her admit filing a false report.

Shannon, who also worked as a pastor, lied that a 13 year-old acquaintance had raped his 13 year-old girlfriend, who was one of Shannon’s relatives.




Her falsehoods resulted in the boy, who was not named to protect his privacy, being held at a juvenile correctional center and forced to wear an electronic tag.

Kelly Shannon struck a plea deal which saw her admit filing a false report (Picture: YouTube)

She began grooming the boy and his girlfriend by helping him with his homework and taking him on outings.

But the relationship took a disturbing turn when Shannon performed a fake marriage ceremony for the teenagers.

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After the boy’s mother punished him by taking away his phone, Shannon bought him a new one.

His mother found that device, and got a restraining order against Shannon, the Providence Journal reported.

That prompted Shannon to accuse him of raping his girlfriend, with the scheming singer also coaching the girl herself to back up her claims.

Shannon is further said to have made the girl perform sex acts on other boys, and even coached her on what to do.

Her lies were uncovered when the girl told teachers at school that Shannon had forced her to fib, with school staff then calling police.

Confronting Shannon in court, the boy said: ‘I would like to say I’m a good judge of character, but at 13, I didn’t have the trust-your-gut instinct I wish I had.

‘(Shannon) was someone that mastered the art of deception and manipulation.

‘I trusted her, an adult figure, and unknowingly over time became a victim in her web of lies…

‘It would take a hundred pages to list all your lies, manipulations, and abuse of the legal and justice system.

‘You may have a few years of punishment, but I have to live with what you did to me for the rest of my life.”

Shannon originally faced far more serious charges after Warwick Police Department reportedly found a photo of a boy’s erect penis on her phone.

She is also said to have snapped nude photos of a female teenage relative that she then distributed among boys she knew.

Shannon’s plea deal means that she will not have to register as a sex offender.

She has been barred from contacting either of the children involved.