Man trading child porn on plane caught by off-duty investigator, AR officials say

An Arkansas man is facing child pornography charges after an off-duty investigator happened to look over at his phone while they were aboard the same flight, according to officials.

Micah Shawn Morrison, 51, was waiting for takeoff at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, in Little Rock, and investigators say he was engrossed in his phone, the Arkansas attorney general’s office said in an April 2 news release. Morrison caught the attention of a fellow passenger on the airplane, Special Agent Heath Nelson, who was off-duty at the time.

Nelson saw Morrison “texting about committing sexual acts on children, as well as exchanging pornography,” officials said.

The attorney general’s office launched an investigation and identified the passenger with help from Homeland Security Investigations.

“On March 6, agents from my office and HSI conducted an interview with Morrison during which his cell phone was seized and later determined to contain child sexual abuse material,” Attorney General Tim Griffin said in the release.

On April 1, investigators obtained a warrant and searched Morrison’s home in Hot Springs, where they collected 14 electronic devices as potential evidence, then arrested Morrison, the release said.

The attorney general’s office didn’t specify the date of the flight, only that it was “a few months ago.”

Morrison is charged with pandering or possessing visual medium depicting sexual conduct involving a child, the office said.

No attorney information was available for Morrison.

Hot Springs is a 55-mile drive southwest from Little Rock.

This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Man trading child porn on plane caught by off-duty investigator, AR officials say."