Sex Abuse Suspect, Wanted Since 2018, Arrested In New York

In April 2017, detectives with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Unit began an investigation into Patrick Robert Shea O’Connor after receiving a report of sexual abuse involving a child. During the investigation, detectives learned that the abuse occurred in multiple places throughout Oregon, as well as in Seattle, where O’Connor was living. Seattle Police also began an investigation into O’Connor for abuse that occurred in their jurisdiction.

In January 2018, a Washington County grand jury indicted O’Connor on the following charges:

• Using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct (4 counts)
• Sexual abuse in the first degree (3 counts)
• Luring a minor (5 counts)
• Attempted sodomy in the first degree (4 counts)

At the time of his indictment, investigators believed that O’Connor fled the country. Detectives worked with federal partners to locate O’Connor but were unsuccessful. In November 2025, investigators received information that O’Connor was living in Syracuse, New York. The United States Marshal Service (USMS) coordinated with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, and O’Connor was arrested in Syracuse on November 20, 2025.