Jordan Wilcox
Assistant Publisher
Thomas Patrick Shannon, the former owner of Shannon Orthodontics in Plainwell and Grandville, has been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on child exploitation charges — the maximum allowed under the law. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney sentenced the 44-year-old after he pleaded guilty in October to two counts of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to court documents, Shannon exploited nearly 20 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 from 2019 to 2024.
The investigation began in late 2021 when a 16-year-old in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, reported to police that she had been exploited on Snapchat, an online messaging platform. She told authorities a man contacted her requesting nude photos and videos in exchange for money.
The girl agreed, sent the images, and was paid $150. He later requested additional content, including material from when she was in eighth and ninth grade.
Fuquay-Varina police traced the account to Shannon, who at the time owned Shannon Orthodontics. Authorities alerted the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, and Detective Tim Potts went to question Shannon at his Grandville clinic.
Potts asked whether he remembered messaging a girl on Snapchat about two years earlier. Shannon responded, “Possibly, yes.”
“You asked for some nude photographs, and you were going to send her money?” Potts continued. Shannon replied, “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.”
Shortly afterward, Shannon hired a private investigator to determine whether his phone and accounts contained child pornography.
They did.
The investigator determined Shannon had coerced and paid 17 underage girls to send explicit photos and videos. According to documents filed by prosecutors, he paid one victim, a child in the foster care system, nearly $2,000 for approximately 40 explicit videos and asked another to recruit friends.
“Do you have any friends who would make content? Either alone or with you? I’m thinking of more ways to get you $$$,” Shannon messaged.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Roth later revealed in a sentencing memorandum that Shannon pressured minors not only to record themselves but also to film themselves having sex with men and send him the recordings.
Kent County Detective Christopher Goehring continued the investigation and eventually secured a search warrant for Shannon’s computer. A forensic examination uncovered additional explicit images of infants, prepubescent children, and adolescents dating back to January 2019.
In January 2023, Shannon was arrested by the Kent County Sheriff’s Office on state-level child pornography charges but was released on bond. He was placed on an electronic tether, required to surrender his passport, restricted from using a computer except for work purposes, and prohibited from unsupervised contact with minors, including his own children. However, that did not stop his crimes.
In July 2024, an 18th victim, a 13-year-old girl from Prince George’s County, Maryland, was identified after her father reported finding nude photos and messages between her and Shannon.
At that point, state prosecutors dismissed their case, and federal authorities took over. Law enforcement tracked Shannon’s electronic tether to Isle Marina in Grand Haven, where he kept his yacht.
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations raided the vessel and later arrested Shannon in a nearby park while he was walking with his son. During the federal investigation, authorities also determined that Shannon had been producing and selling child sexually abusive material through an online network.
In a memo submitted to the court, Shannon acknowledged that his “online behavior would have never completely stopped, if not for the federal search of my boat.”
Elsewhere in the memo, he claimed to have recommitted to his Christian faith and stated he would never again let down God or his family. He attributed his actions to arrogance, entitlement, and insecurity, and said he did not fully comprehend the harm he was causing.
Despite those statements, prosecutors described Shannon as “a serial sexual predator” and sought the maximum sentence — two consecutive 30-year terms. Judge Maloney granted the request and ordered restitution payments of $2,000, $10,000, and $7,900 to three victims. Court records indicate Shannon has already paid those amounts.
During sentencing, Maloney said, “This is the most horrendous case I have seen in my 30 years working in state and federal court.”
Following the sentencing, Timothy VerHey, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, issued a statement to media outlets.
“Shannon’s selfish and senseless exploitation of these children has exposed them to a lifetime of emotional damage,” VerHey wrote. “I sincerely hope they can overcome it. But preying on our children must stop, and we will seek long sentences against people like Shannon until it does.”
The statement also included remarks from Homeland Security Investigations’ Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey and Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young, who commended the collaborative efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, the Fuquay-Varina Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, and Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecutors, the initiative coordinates federal, state, and local resources to identify victims and investigate and prosecute offenders.
Shannon Orthodontics ceased operations in early 2023. According to Shannon’s defense attorney, no patients were harmed.
As part of his plea agreement, Shannon waived his right to appeal.
