It is a federal crime to possess child pornography. When Christopher Shepard’s ex-wife reported that he had assaulted her daughter (his stepdaughter) and posted photos online, the Gorham Police Department (GPD) notified Homeland Security.

Search warrants were obtained for Shepard’s computer and cell phone. Both contained photos of a number of underage girls as well as pictures of girls whose ages could not be determined. GPD presented their information to Homeland Security who did a further investigation and charged Shepard with production of child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years for each charge and is being held without bail in a federal facility in New Hampshire.

GPD conducted its own investigation of the sexual abuse charges related to Shepard’s stepdaughter and charged him with three counts of gross sexual assault of a child, a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years per charge. GPD expects that the charges they have filed will also be prosecuted, and if convicted, Shepard will have additional jail time added to the sentence he receives from the federal charges.

Shepard had been living on Rust Road for the past year but had not been reported to GPD as a sexual offender as past allegations of sexual abuse made to DHHS did not lead to any charges against him.