(06/05/07 - Initial BBT Report)
Timothy D. Sheehan, 50, a teacher at Whitman Middle School in Seattle, has been charged with one count of possession of depiction of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Sheehan came to the attention of authorities when a woman who dated him prior to their breakup in May told police he showed her child pornography on his computer.
The woman, who said she broke up with him in early May, said Sheehan “talked … about killing young boys” and fantasized “about having sex with underage boys,” according to a search warrant obtained by KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.
According to the documents, Sheehan told his former girlfriend that he was a “pedophile” and a “rapist.”
When detectives went to serve a search warrant to look at the computer, Sheehan allegedly told them it was at school.
Detectives seized the computer and found 39 images they say show minors in sexually explicit acts.
Sheehan who has taught boys and girls at Whitman Middle School for years is scheduled for arraignment on June 12 in the King County Courthouse. He has not yet been arrested and will likely have to post $10,000 at his June hearing. He has been suspended with pay by the school system.
06/12/07 - Arraignment
Timothy Sheehan has been arraigned at which time he entered a not guilty plea to a charge alleging the possession of depiction of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
From KIRO News
The investigation began after a woman who said she dated Sheehan told police he showed her child pornography on his computer.
The woman, who said she broke up with him in early May, said Sheehan “talked … about killing young boys” and fantasized “about having sex with underage boys,” according to a search warrant obtained by KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.
Sheehan, a veteran teacher, is currently on leave from Whitman Middle School and denies all the allegations against him.
05/12/08 - Guilty Plea, Woman Lived In Fear
Last week Timothy Sheehan pleaded guilty to child porn and resigned from his teaching job.
The ex-girlfriend that turned him in says she has been hiding since last May because she feared the consequences from the Sheehan and his supporters.
No information on when sentencing will occur, although Sheehan will be required to register as a sex offender.
06/13/08 - Sentencing
Timothy Sheehan has been sentenced to a suspended two-year jail sentence provided that he get sexual-deviancy treatment, register as a sex offender, use a pornography filter on his computer, stay away from minors except when another adult is present and not hold any position of authority over kids.
The prosecution recommended the above sentence except the prosecution sought to bar Sheehan from any contact with minors. The judge modified the recommendation to include the “other adult” provision.
References:
Avoiding jail, teacher ordered to get treatment for having child porn (06/13/08)
Woman Says She Lived In Fear After Exposing Teacher To Police (05/12/08)
Seattle Teacher Enters Plea To Child Porn Charge (06/12/07)
Teacher charged with possessing child porn
Seattle Teacher Charged With Possessing Child Porn
Seattle teacher charged with posessing child porn
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June 18th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Beyond a misrepresentation of facts (images were not found on the computers, just a record of the downloading of images that were no longer there), there is a crucial element missing; Tim only took an Alford plea (not an admission of guilt at all, but rather an acknowledgment that the admissible evidence was likely to produce a guilty verdict) after the court denied admission of any information regarding his ex-girlfriend, the key defense in the case.
There is a reason why this woman “fears the consequences” from Tim’s defenders. Not because we would be any threat to her, but because many of us had a front row seat to her behaviors in the relationship prior to their breakup and know that her history of manipulation, her previous relationship with a former teacher decades older than her that began when she was 17, her erratic behaviors throughout their involvement casts more than just doubt on this case. Justice could not be, and was not, served without a full accounting of the history of the woman whose hearsay seems to be such a key factor in Tim’s conviction, both in court and in the court of public opinion.
I’ve known Tim for years and the reason so many kids say that he was one of their favorite teachers is because they rightly knew he was truly on their side. Keep this in mind: He wasn’t found guilty, he took a plea because he wasn’t allowed to fully make his case.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
The more I consider this case the more I become convinced there is, at this stage, a reasonable possibility that Sheehan is being framed.
Were this simply a “she said, he said” case it would be a lot easier to blow off the entire thing however the fact that police discovered child pornography on his computer must be kept in mind.
Either he placed it there or she placed it there, concocted her allegations and then went to the police as a form of revenge.
Both possibilities are very troubling…
June 7th, 2007 at 2:22 am
I am a former student of Whitman Middle School and am PROUD to say that I was a student of Mr. Sheehan’s. He is a wonderful man who cares about his community and students with all of his heart. I was lucky enough to have Mr. Sheehan all three years I attended Whitman, he was my 6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher, my 7th grade gym teacher, and my 8th grade video productions teacher. I am proud to know this amazing man and continue to support him. Does it not make any of you suspicious that the only allegations are coming from a jealous ex-girlfriend??? I feel sorry for anyone who feels the need to destroy a good man’s life and reputation just to get a little revenge. Would a man who is a “pedophile and rapist” only have 39 pictures? This women is guilty of gross exaggeration to say the very least.