He Hired A Private Investigator To Prove He Didn't Have Child Porn. It Backfired When He Was Turned In, Police Say.

A Michigan orthodontist hired a private investigator in attempt to prove that he didn't have child pornography on his phone. Then, they turned him in.

Dr. Thomas Patrick Shannon, of Byron Township, Michigan, is facing criminal charges after investigators say he was soliciting explicit photos and videos from a 17-year-old girl in North Carolina.

The Kent County Sheriff's Office was notified of the possible criminal acts by the Fuquay, Virginia Police Department. Detective Tim Potts went to Shannon Orthodontics and interviewed the man.

Potts reportedly asked Shannon if he ould have been speaking to a young girl on Snapchat approximately two years ago, and he said, "possibly, yes." According to court documents, the officer then asked Shannnon about nude photographs and the intention to send the girl money, and he repolied, “if it happened, obviously it’s 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."

That's when Shannon hired a forensics investigator to examine his iPhone and iCloud to show "there was no child porn stored on it." Then the opposite happened.

The investigator allegedly found "a large amount of child porn in his possession. They reportedly included photos of minors younger than 10 and sexually explicit photos of prepubescent and adolescent children.

Kent County Detective Christopher Goerhring later found that Shannon had allegedly been in contact with minors online since at least January 2019. Once a search warrant was initiated, police say they found images of naked boys and girls, including infants and prepubescent children.

Shannon has been charged with eight felony charges in the case, including possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography and using a computer to commit a crime, according to Fox 17.