Thomas Sheehan. (Groveland Police)
A 46-year-old Massachusetts man is accused of stealing photos of women from their Facebook pages and then impersonating them on a sex site, soliciting men to violently rape them, prosecutors say.
Thomas Sheehan, of Quincy, is charged with solicitation to commit assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, solicitation to commit rape, solicitation to commit rape of a child and solicitation to commit kidnapping, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a press release.
The charges stem from one case, where police say he pretended to be a Groveland woman.
“We allege that this defendant put this woman and her family in grave danger by impersonating her online, posting photos of her and her children, and communicating with strangers who sought to do personal harm,” Healey said. “Our office is taking a serious look at whether the current laws appropriately address the severity of these alleged crimes.”
The women were not harmed.
“None of these women was aware or consented to the graphic and violent rape requests that Sheehan made on their behalf,” Prosecutor Tom Ralph said in court.
Sheehan, who has been married since October and turned 46 on Wednesday, according to his Facebook page, remains in custody on $50,000 bail.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. He Is Accused of Posing as the Women on the ‘Largest BDSM Community on the Planet’
Thomas “Tom” Sheehan. (Facebook)
According to the Newburyport News, Thomas “Tom” Sheehan is accused of posing as the women on a site called Collarspace.com.
The website bills itself as “largest BDSM community on the planet.” BDSM is a type of sexual fetish and stands for bondage and discipline, dominance and submission and sadism and masochism.
The case began in August, when a New Hampshire man told Groveland police he found a profile on Collarspace of a woman saying she wanted to be “kidnapped, raped and tortured,” according to the police report obtained by the Newburyport News.
Police began monitoring the profile, Cuteone.778, and obtained search warrants to track down the person who created the profile, which led to Sheehan, investigators said.
“This is a deeply disturbing situation, in which the suspect allegedly stole the identity of one of our residents and attempted to use their identity to cause significant harm to this person,” Groveland Police Chief Robert J. Kirmelewicz said in a statement. “I want to single out Groveland Police Detective Steven Petrone for his diligent work on this case. We are also very grateful to the Attorney General’s Office and our law enforcement partners at the Quincy Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. These strong partnerships and aggressive police work helped bring this suspect to justice.”
According to police, the woman once knew Sheehan in real life.
2. Six of His Alleged Victims Came to Court to ‘Stand Up & Smile’ at Him
(Facebook)
One of the women, who asked to remain anonymous, told WCVB-TV that Sheehan gave men her home and work address, along with other information about her. He posted on the website saying it was her fantasy to be abducted and violently raped.
The woman told WBZ-TV, “I was worried that they thought they did have permission from me.”
The woman and five other alleged victims were in court this week to face Sheehan.
“We all just want to stand up and smile at him, to let him know that it’s not just this one victim that we are all here together,” the woman told WBZ.
She said she worked with Sheehan in the late 1980s at Logan Airport, but had not seen him since then.
3. His Attorney Claims His Online Actions Were ‘Roleplaying Only’
During his first court appearance on Tuesday, Sheehan’s attorney argued that the profile was simply part of an online fantasy.
“It was roleplaying only,” his attorney Michael J. Baldassarre, said. “It was known from the beginning, through the conversation, that it was role play fantasy only, not meant to be acted out upon.”
The case has some similarities to the infamous “Cannibal Cop,” Gilberto Valle, who was accused of conspiring online to kidnap, sexually assault and the cannibalize a woman he knew. Valle was originally found guilty of the conspiracy charge, but the case was later overturned by a judge. Valle argued his online discussions about the women were simply fantasies and a way for him to express his sexual fetishes without harming anyone.
The former NYPD officer was found guilty of accessing a federal crime database without authorization.
4. Sheehan Works for an Airline at Logan Airport in Boston
(Facebook)
Sheehan is an employee of Cathay Pacific Airways, where he has worked as a cargo manager for the airline at Logan Airport in Boston since April 2015, according to his Linkedin profile.
He has previously worked as a customer service agent for Air Canada, an airport operations supervisor for United Airlines, a ramp service lead for Delta Airlines and a ramp service agent for Pan Am Airways.
“I have been in the airline industry for over 20 years both in Ramp and customer service agent as well as a Supervisor in management,” Sheehan writes. “I can operate many machinery as well as brake ride Qualified for the 757 and A319, 320 aircraft. Also deicing qualified. I have also supervisor experience in the daily operations of airline. Both in ramp and customer service.”
He has also worked as a limo driver. His employer did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his current status with the company.
5. He Is a Singer & Has Performed the National Anthem at Minor League Baseball Games
Sheehan, a graduate of Christopher Columbus Catholic High School in Boston, is also a singer, having performed the National Anthem for the minor league baseball team the Portland Sea Dogs and at other events, according to his Linkedin page.
He says he is also a photographer, who loves “taking pictures of airplanes.”
