Former Police Officer Sentenced In Child Porn Case In San Jose: US Attorney's Office

SAN JOSE, CA — A former San Jose police officer and department community service officer was sentenced to five years in federal prison after investigators found thousands of child sexual abuse images on electronic devices seized from his Gilroy home, prosecutors said.

Denis Shevchenko, 45, of Gilroy, was convicted following a federal bench trial in October 2025 of possessing child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila imposed the sentence.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Shevchenko previously worked as a police officer with the San Jose Police Department and Pinole Police Department before serving as a community service officer with SJPD.

The investigation began after law enforcement discovered online messages attributed to Shevchenko that advocated violence against police officers and people who did not share his beliefs, according to prosecutors.

SJPD officers searched Shevchenko's home on Oct. 14, 2021, and seized electronic devices. Prosecutors said the devices contained numerous videos and thousands of images depicting minors being sexually abused.

Shevchenko was indicted in June 2022 and charged in a superseding indictment in May 2024. A federal judge found him guilty following a bench trial on Oct. 17, 2025.

Davila also sentenced Shevchenko to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $47,000 in restitution to victims. He is scheduled to begin serving his prison sentence Oct. 29.

The case was previously reported after Shevchenko was arrested in 2021 on separate weapons charges related to his online posts. At the time, SJPD said he had been placed on administrative leave and that investigators found a loaded handgun at a South San Jose police substation.

The FBI and San Jose Police Department investigated the case.