GRAND RAPIDS CHARTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — An orthodontist who has practices in Grandville and Plainwell is accused of asking a North Carolina teen for explicit photos and possessing child pornography.

Thomas Patrick Shannon, 41, of Byron Township was arraigned Friday afternoon on two counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, two counts of possession of sexually abusive material, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime (a 10- to 20-year felony) and two counts of using a computer to commit a crime (a four to 10-year felony).

Bond was set at $200,000. If Shannon posts 10% of that and is freed, he must wear an electronic tether and turn in his passport. He would be prohibited from using a computer for anything other than work. He must be supervised while in the presence of any minors, including his two young children and all his patients. Shannon did not indicate whether he would continue to see patients, but his lawyer said a safety plan was instituted at some point during the investigation ensuring Shannon would not be alone with children.

In a statement, defense attorney Frank Stanley said Shannon has cooperated with investigators and looks forward to his day in court:

“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.“

Frank Stanley

On Friday, Shannon’s practice sent the following statement to its patients:

“We were shocked and saddened to learn of the disturbing allegations against Dr. Shannon. Immediately following our receipt of the news, our offices closed for patients and staff. We will be cooperating fully with law enforcement as they continue their investigation.

“Also, we are aware that many of you have been trying to contact us. We will start reaching out to all patients on Monday. We are partnering with several leading local orthodontists who are on hand to help and seamlessly transfer your care.

“We understand that these are extraordinary and unsettling circumstances for our community, and we will work diligently to transition your care as quickly and easily as we can.”

A statement emailed to patients from the Shannon Orthodontics Team

Shannon is expected back in court for a pretrial conference on Jan. 18 and a preliminary hearing on Jan. 24.

According to court documents, Kent County Sheriff’s Detectives were contacted by a police department in North Carolina in September of 2021 after a 17-year-old girl said Shannon connected with her over the internet, asking her to send photos and video of herself in the nude.

The girl agreed and sent him the images. The affidavit said he allegedly paid the girl $150.

Court documents said he asked for more photos and videos, specifically from when she was in 8th and 9th grade.

When detectives confronted Shannon at his business, he was asked if he remembered messaging a girl on Snapchat about two years ago. Court documents said he replied, “Possibly, yes.”

The detective said, “You asked for some nude photographs and you were going to send her money.”

Shannon said, “If it happened, obviously it (is) all there and I have to fess up to it. I didn’t know anything more about that, but some girls are on there soliciting.”

“We took the case as far as we could. Unfortunately, at that point in time, we just couldn’t develop a case,” Kent County Undersheriff Chuck Dewitt told News 8.

But at some point, after the interview with detectives, Shannon hired a forensic investigator to prove his iPhone and iCloud accounts were free of child pornography.

They weren’t.

Shannon’s forensic investigator soon reached out to sheriff’s investigators to report he’d found a large amount of child pornography on Shannon’s iCloud account, including sexually explicit images of children who appear to be under the age of 12.

“We were able to secure some search warrants. And as a result, we obtained the hard drive of the suspect as well as access to an account online in the cloud,” DeWitt said.

Detectives found explicit images of infants, prepubescent and adolescent children dating back to January 2019. They also found that Shannon had been reaching out to known minors online for sexually explicit pictures and videos since January 2021.

It’s unclear which social media apps he used to contact the children, but court documents said he used multiple.

“At this point, however, we do not have any information that there are any victims locally,” De Witt said.

If you or someone you know may have been affected, contact sheriff’s detectives at 616.632.6125.

That said, there are likely a lot of parents whose children saw Shannon as patients who will want to talk to their kids to make sure they weren’t victims. DeWitt’s advice to those parents: be very careful about how you approach that discussion.

“It is important that they don’t ask leading questions. And that they don’t plant a thought or an event in their loved one’s minds,” DeWitt said.

If you’re not sure about how to have that talk, there are experts that can help. DeWitt suggests reaching out to the sheriff’s department or the Children’s Advocacy Center of Kent County.