By admin 
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA/Gray News) — Alabama investigators have arrested a Mobile neurosurgeon on child pornography charges.
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Shawn Broxton Clark, 59, has been charged with five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of production of child pornography.
The production counts are felonies, punishable by 10 years to life in prison, authorities said.
A judge set bail at $450,000 Friday.
Mobile County Chief Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Susman said outside the courtroom that she expects charges to be filed in Clark’s home county, Baldwin. She said the child pornography charges in Mobile County involve both real children and images generated by artificial intelligence.
Susman downplayed the significance of a ruling by a federal judge in Wisconsin that laws criminalizing AI images violate the First Amendment.
“Fortunately for us, we are prosecutors in the great state of Alabama, and our legislature determined that this was the forefront of child predators,” she said. “And they recognize that. They pass laws that empower us to protect children. And our community entrusts us to absolutely complete that task. … A federal judge in the Seventh Circuit does not have any bearing on what we do here in Mobile.”
The Alabama Legislature amended its child pornography statute in 2024 to include digital images that are created, altered or generated to appear to depict an actual person younger than 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct. It is a Class A felony, punishable by 10 years to life in prison.
Prosecutors asked for higher-than-normal bail – $750,000 – due to Clark’s wealth and the fact that prosecutors believe he poses a risk to flee.
“In any situation where you have a defendant with a significantly greater means than your average defendant, that comes with a significantly greater chance of flight,” Susman said.
Mobile County District Judge Zackery Moore said he did not think such a high bond was necessary because of other restrictions he imposed: Clark can have no contact with minors and must surrender his passport. If he makes bail, he will have to wear an ankle monitor and remain at his house except to go to work, meet with his lawyer or attend court hearings.
“The judge set a legal bond within the guidelines and recommendations that the courts provide, but we were hoping for a higher bond,” Susman said.
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Clark attended the hearing remotely from Mobile County Metro Jail, as is customary in Mobile County for bond hearings. He told the judge that the phones at the jail were down and he had not had a chance to hire a lawyer.
The judge set a review hearing for Tuesday to ensure that the detectives have signed the paperwork. If Clark has hired a lawyer by then, the judge could move forward with his arraignment.
Mobile County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Mark Bailey said that Clark’s arrest demonstrates that child pornography knows no socioeconomic boundaries.
“It cuts across all socioeconomic parts of the fabric of our society,” he said. “It has nothing to do with money, status, stature – anything of that nature. Obviously, there are suspects of all walks of life.”
Bailey said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children referred a cyber tip in March to the sheriff’s office, which linked child pornography websites to IP addresses at Clark’s home and office.
According to Bailey, the investigation revealed that in addition to possessing child pornography, Clark produced illicit images of children estimated to be about 13 years old.
Investigators said they are working to identify the victims.
“He’s produced it. He’s viewed it, downloaded it and possessed it,” Bailey said. “So we have actual physical evidence as far as hard drives and things of that nature.”
Lee Martin, a neighbor who lives near Clark’s home in the Montrose community, said he was surprised.
“Shocked,” he said. “Nice people. Would never expect that.”
According to the website of Clark Neurosurgery, the practice specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions that affect patients as they age. Clark’s office was located off Airport Boulevard.
State medical records stated that Clark has a degree from the University of Miami’s medical school.
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Clark is said to be cooperating with the investigation.