A Michigan orthodontist is facing criminal charges after allegedly soliciting sexually explicit photos and videos from a minor in North Carolina and possessing child pornography in digital storage.
Thomas Shannon, 41, was arrested Thursday on multiple felonies, including aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, using a computer to commit a crime and possession of child pornography.
He had allegedly been contacting minors for sexually explicit photos and videos dating back to 2019.
Shannon allegedly offered to pay for explicit photos and videos of the girl. He also allegedly asked for more photos, particularly from when she was in eighth or ninth grade.
A Kent County Sheriff’s Office detective interviewed Shannon at his business, Shannon Orthodontics, and asked if he could recall communicating with the minor on Snapchat roughly two years ago, and if he offered to pay for nude photos
“If it happened, obviously it’s all there and I have to fess up to it,” he allegedly replied, according to a probable cause affidavit. “I didn’t know anything more about that, but some girls are on there soliciting.”
According to the affidavit, Shannon then hired a forensic investigator to examine his iPhone and iCloud accounts in an effort to prove he had no child pornography. The investigator, however, found “a large amount of child pornography” in his data.
The data allegedly included photos of minors under the age of 10 and sexually explicit photos of prepubescent and adolescent children.
Investigators also believe Shannon previously attempted to make arrangements to have sex with minors.
Kent County Sheriff’s detectives executed search warrants for Shannon’s electronic devices and social media accounts, and allegedly discovered additional images of nude boys and girls, including infants and prepubescent children.
The sheriff’s office said the case remains an ongoing investigation. A Michigan orthodontist is facing criminal charges after allegedly soliciting sexually explicit photos and videos from a minor in North Carolina and possessing child pornography in digital storage.
Thomas Shannon, 41, was arrested Thursday on multiple felonies, including aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, using a computer to commit a crime and possession of child pornography.
He had allegedly been contacting minors for sexually explicit photos and videos dating back to 2019.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the 63rd District Court, this led to an investigation in which detective Tim Potts interviewed Shannon at his practice and asked if he remembered talking to the girl on Snapchat two years prior.
Potts then said, “You asked for some nude photographs and you were going to send her money,” to which the 41-year-old orthodontist apparently said, “If it happened, obviously it’s all there and I have to fess up to it.”
Court documents go on to state that Shannon decided to hire a forensic investigator to comb through his iPhone and iCloud accounts and show ‘there was no child porn stored on it’.
But in a shocking twist, the investigator is said to have found ‘a large amount of child porn’ in Shannon’s data, including sexually explicit photos of children under the age of 10.
Kent County detective Christopher Goehring continued the sting operation by executing search warrants on Shannon’s devices and data.
Authorities claim that this then led to the discovery of more sexually explicit images of infants and prepubescent and adolescent children.
Detectives also said they uncovered records suggesting Shannon had been communicating with and seeking explicit photos and videos with minors and they believe he tried to ‘make arrangements to have sex with the minors’.
Per the affidavit: “Records dating back to January 2019 shows Shannon had been communicating and soliciting known minors online for sexually explicit nude photographs and videos.”
The documents go on to state that the doctor has been accused of using numerous social media apps and online banking accounts to pay for the material.
The investigation is still ongoing, with police urging anyone with information on the 41-year-old to come forward.
Shannon’s attorney, Frank Stanley, said in a statement: “My client begins the legal process with the presumption of innocence.
“He has cooperated fully with authorities in their investigation. We look forward to his day in court when these allegations can be addressed.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 8am–10pm Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm weekends. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111
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