ICE HSI investigated Colorado schoolteacher for possession of child pornography
DENVER – A former schoolteacher was sentenced to serve nearly 4 years in federal prison followed by 5 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography. He was also ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution to certain victims of his crime.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) joined United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn in making the announcement.
Patrick McMahon, 30, a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado appeared at the hearing remotely, free on bond. He was ordered to voluntarily surrender to a Bureau of Prisons facility.
“The victimization of children is a heartbreaking violation of trust and HSI worked relentlessly with our partners to bring McMahon to justice. Because he was a teacher, we hope this sentence ensures he can never work with children again,” said Steven Cagen, special agent in charge, HSI Denver. “HSI, along with local, state and federal partners, worked tirelessly to investigate and prosecute McMahon to the fullest extent possible.”
“Stopping the use of child pornography is a top priority for this office,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn. “Thanks to the outstanding work of our HSI and ICAC partners, Mr. McMahon will go from spending his days in a high school classroom to spending them in a federal prison cell.”
According to the stipulated facts contained in McMahon’s plea agreement, McMahon was brought to the attention of law enforcement when his ex-wife asked the Colorado Springs Police Department to analyze his laptop. She was in possession of the computer and was concerned because he had previously used it to show her child pornography.
Colorado’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force obtained a search warrant leading to a computer forensic examination which revealed that the laptop contained child pornography or child erotica. Additionally, there was evidence that a peer-to-peer file sharing program had been installed on the computer and the program contained terms indicative of child pornography.
Based on the discovery of child pornography on the laptop, state search warrants were obtained for the defendant's home, school, vehicle and person. Those search warrants were executed on Jan. 7, 2019.
McMahon was searched at his place of employment, a Calhan high school where he was a teacher. In addition to the child pornography discovered on the defendant’s laptop, the computer forensic examination revealed child pornography on additional devices belonging to the defendant: a cell phone recovered from the defendant's person at the school and a custom desktop computer with two hard drives as well as an external hard drive recovered from the defendant's home.
Copies of all of the files depicting child pornography were provided to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. NCMEC reported that 602 of the image files and two of the video files possessed by McMahon depict minor victims previously identified by law enforcement.
Patrick McMahon was charged by Indictment April 18, 2019 and pleaded guilty to the charge Jan. 16, 2020. The sentence was pronounced by U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson Nov. 2, 2020.
This case was investigated by HSI and the Colorado ICAC Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alecia L. Riewerts.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of DHS and a vital U.S. asset in combatting transnational crime and threats. One of HSI’s top priorities is to protect the public from crimes of victimization, and HSI’s child exploitation investigations program is a central component of this mission set. HSI is recognized as a global leader in this investigative discipline, and is committed to utilizing its vast authorities, international footprint and strong government and non-government partnerships to identify and rescue child victims, identify and apprehend offenders, prevent transnational child sexual abuse, and help make the internet a safer place for children.
For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from online sexual abuse, visit HSI's iGuardians program.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore pronounced Olson’s sentence Nov. 10, 2020. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver Sept. 5, 2019. He pleaded guilty Dec. 23, 2019. This case was investigated by HSI, the Colorado Department of Adult Parole and the Denver Police Department. The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Conor Flanigan.
To report a crime, call 866-347-2423 (TTY for hearing impaired: 802-872-6196) or visit the ICE Tip Line.
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