Girlfriend recounts fear she had after turning in teacher boyfriend for child porn

(Original Post 5-15-08)
The ex-girlfriend of a teacher who plead guilty to state child porn charges gave an interview with a Seattle-area television station about her experience telling the police that the teacher she shared her life with had a deviant interest in sex with young boys.

In an exclusive interview with KIRO 7 Monday, Sharyn Thoma-Guay explained how she told police about her boyfriend’s collection of child pornography nearly a year ago.

Her boyfriend, Tim Sheehan, was a popular video-production teacher at Whitman Middle School in Ballard. Thoma-Guay said Sheehan talked about fantasies of having sex with and killing young boys and showed her numerous images of child pornography on a laptop computer he used at the school.

Thoma-Guay said she was afraid not just of Sheehan’s students being potential victims, but also of Sheehan physically, and that his supporters, both adults and kids, would smear her.

“I was afraid that I would go and tell them (the police) this, and he (Sheehan) would get rid of everything and they would find nothing, and that he would still be teaching. And the only person that would know would be me,” she said.

Thoma-Guay told police about Sheehan’s activities last May and authorities found the images Thoma-Guay had described during a search of Sheehan’s home.

According to a Seattle police document, Sheehan apparently used his job to fuel his fantasies.
"Sheehan told Thoma-Guay that he liked when the children did interviews because it got head shots of his students. Whereas he used to have to look on the net for photos of children, he now enjoyed the fact that he got to ‘Watch them in slow motion, frame by frame,’” a court document said.

Sheehan resigned from his teaching job after pleading guilty to child porn charges last week. The girlfriend said that she turned in her boyfriend for the sake of the kids that were hurt.

“I just wanted people to know only one thing, and that’s that I only did this for the kids. Now I feel like I can move on because I did a good thing. It cost me, but I know it was worth it.”
Sheehan will be required to register as a sex offender. He was on paid leave until his resignation.

(Update 6-13-08) Sheehan was sentenced to two years suspended, and conditions of his sentence include sex offender treatment, sex offender registration, and a porn blocker on his computer. He was also prohibited from being around kids without another adult present, and from holding a position of authority over kids.

Deputy Prosecutor Julie Kays said the plea agreement was "to ensure the protection of children in our community. That has been our objective all along."

Sheehan's attorney, Jeffrey Cohen, said the man is known by parents and students as a good teacher and a positive influence. He provided the court with stacks of letters in support.

Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell noted Sheehan's strong community support and approved the plea agreement, but also pointed out that the crime has a "silent side" -- the children, often never identified, who are victimized to make child pornography.