Registered Nurse Admits To Having 600 Child Porn Images: Feds

EAST BAY, CA — A Contra Costa County man who admittedly had more than 600 images of child pornography will serve more than six years in prison, federal authorities announced.

Shawn Jamison Prichard, 42, of Antioch, was sentenced Thursday morning in an Oakland courtroom to 78 months in prison.

Prichard was working as a registered nurse at an East Bay hospital when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber tip from a social media company about his suspected online activities related to child porn, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent In Charge Tatum King said in a news release.

Homeland Security, the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office were involved in the investigation of Prichard.

In December 2020, Prichard was booked into Contra Costa County jail after a search warrant was served at his Antioch residence and authorities found several items of digital evidence that contained child pornography, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office said.

Prichard was initially charged with three counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of aggravated possession of child pornography, the DA's Office said at the time.

Then on Feb. 12, federal authorities charged Prichard with a single count of possession of child pornography.

In a plea agreement, Prichard pleaded guilty March 31 to the count and admitted that he knew he was in possession of more than 600 sexually explicit images of children, prosecutors said.

"The images included videos and images showing prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct as well as images of sadistic or masochistic depictions of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct perpetrated by adults on infants or toddlers," federal authorities said.

In addition to time behind bars, a federal judge also sentenced Prichard to five years of probation. He may also have to pay restitution depending on the outcome of a hearing scheduled for Oct. 20.