How Three Men Built a Midwest Child Exploitation Pipeline

From 1973 to 1978, three individuals operated on separate tracks that ultimately converged to form one of the most disturbing abuse networks of the era: John David Norman, operator of the national “Delta Project” child pornography clearinghouse; Gerald S. Richards, a Midwestern recruiter with youth-program access; and Francis D. Shelden, a Michigan millionaire who used his private island as the setting for a fraudulent “charity camp.” Below is a dual narrative / parallel chronology showing how their actions overlapped and reinforced one another. 1973: Three Tracks Begin to Move Toward Each Other

• John David Norman is running the Delta Project from Dallas and Chicago, compiling enormous mailing lists of men seeking illicit material involving boys.
• Gerald S. Richards begins circulating classified ads in underground publications across the Midwest — ads consistent with Norman’s catalog networks.
• Francis D. Shelden begins laying groundwork for a supposed “youth nature camp,” quietly testing recruitment avenues through associates like Richards.

Early 1974: The Chicago Connection

• Norman expands his operations in Chicago, maintaining a catalog of illegal photographs and contacts nationwide.
• Richards meets Shelden in Chicago, becoming his primary recruiter.
• Shelden formalizes plans for a physical location — North Fox Island — to host what he describes as “nature study camps.”

1975: The Fake Charity Takes Shape June 18, 1975: Shelden establishes Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission, a Michigan 501(c)(3) charity that becomes the official cover for the operation.

• Norman continues distributing illicit catalogs through the Delta Project.
• Richards begins creating brochures, contacting YMCAs, Big Brothers programs, and local newspapers to identify boys.
• Shelden invests in aviation upgrades and island infrastructure.

Summer 1975: The first small groups of boys are flown to North Fox Island for “test camps.” Fall 1975 – Spring 1976: The Three Lanes Fully Merge

• Norman’s Delta Project hits peak circulation, with tens of thousands of names in its files.
• Richards scales up recruitment across Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana, producing fabricated charity outreach materials.
• Shelden expands the island’s facilities — cabins, photography setups, and the airstrip.

At this point, all three men’s activities are operating in parallel — and increasingly in coordination — even if not always directly connected on paper. May–August 1976: Peak Operation

• Norman begins receiving larger batches of photographs and material believed to originate from the island operation.
• Richards oversees the bulk of the on-the-ground recruitment and logistics, transporting boys and maintaining detailed participant logs.
• Shelden, piloting his own planes, flies groups of boys (ages 9–17) to the island for week-long “camps.”

This is the period when North Fox Island effectively becomes a supply node feeding Norman’s national distribution system. July 25, 1976: The First Collapse Point

• Richards is arrested in Port Huron, Michigan, after assaulting an 8-year-old boy.  During questioning, he begins revealing details about the island operation.
• Norman continues Delta Project activities in Chicago but becomes increasingly vulnerable as investigators identify connections.
• Shelden remains unaware of Richards’ statements initially and continues planning further camps.

Late August 1976: Raids and Seizures

• Richards’ home is raided, and authorities recover photographs, correspondence, boy logs, and materials linking him both to Shelden and to Norman’s networks.
• Norman is indirectly implicated through recovered Delta Project correspondence.
• Shelden learns of the investigation and begins preparing to flee the country.

September 1976: Flight

• Shelden leaves the United States with associate Adam Starchild (Malcolm McConahy) on his Beechcraft Baron, settling in Amsterdam.
• Richards continues cooperating with authorities.
• Norman, already under scrutiny for earlier offenses, attempts to distance Delta Project operations from Shelden.

December 1976: Warrants Issued

• Michigan authorities issue warrants for Shelden’s arrest on child sexual conduct charges.
• The Netherlands declines extradition under laws then governing “non-violent” sexual offenses.
• Richards enters cooperation deals that will later shape his testimony.
• Norman faces renewed attention from Illinois authorities.

January – May 1977: North Fox Island Raids

• Michigan State Police conduct several searches of the island, recovering films, photographs, and records.  Many items later disappear from official custody.
• Richards’ cooperation continues through sworn statements.
• Norman, although not charged in Michigan, is publicly linked to the pipeline through investigative cross-references.

May 27, 1977: Senate Testimony

• Gerald Richards testifies under immunity before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency.  He details:

  * the North Fox Island camps

  * the use of Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission as a front

  * the shipment of material to John David Norman’s Delta Project

• Norman is publicly identified as the operator of the national distribution network.
• Shelden, still in Amsterdam, refuses to appear.

1977–1978: Collapse and Dissolution

• Norman is arrested again in late 1977–78 in separate child exploitation cases in Chicago and Dallas.
• Richards avoids long-term imprisonment due to cooperation deals.
• Shelden’s charity is formally dissolved; bank accounts frozen.

Aftermath

• Norman continues offending into the early 2000s; dies in 2011.
• Richards largely disappears from the public record.

Shelden lives openly in Amsterdam under his own name until the mid-1990s.  Reports of his death (1996–1998) are unverified; no official documentation was ever returned to Michigan authorities.

Who Was Brother Paul's Gerald Richards 

Gerald Sheldon Richards (c. 1934–1994) was a central figure linking John David Norman’s Chicago mail-order child-pornography enterprise with Francis D. Shelden’s North Fox Island abuse operation during 1975–1976. A former schoolteacher who volunteered with youth organizations across Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, Richards used his access to YMCA programs, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and church groups to target vulnerable boys, typically ages 9–17.

By 1974, Richards was placing and answering coded advertisements in underground “boy-love” publications. These communications first connected him with Norman and later positioned him as a recruiter for Shelden. Operating under the false charity name “Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission,” Richards handled correspondence, produced brochures, arranged transport, and kept records on boys who were sent to North Fox Island.

On July 25, 1976, Richards was arrested in Port Huron, Michigan, for sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy. Facing substantial prison time, he cooperated with Michigan State Police and federal investigators. He turned over photographs, logs, and correspondence that exposed the island operation and tied it directly to Norman’s Chicago-based distribution network. On May 27, 1977, Richards testified under immunity before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, detailing how boys were recruited, transported, and exploited, as well as how materials were funneled into the broader national network.

Because of his cooperation, Richards received a comparatively light state sentence and was not charged federally. After 1978 he withdrew from public life. He died in Port Huron in 1994 at age 60; official records list natural causes.

Richards’ arrest and disclosures are widely regarded as the turning point that exposed and collapsed the short-lived pipeline linking the Norman and Shelden operations.

Oakland County Child Killer

Dominoes?

Between February 1976 and March 1977, four children were abducted from suburban communities in Oakland County, Michigan, held for varying periods, and murdered. The case remains one of the most significant unsolved serial-child-homicide investigations in the United States.

The Four Confirmed Victims

• Mark Stebbins (12) — abducted Feb 15, 1976, Ferndale; body found Feb 19 in Southfield.

• Jill Robinson (12) — abducted Dec 22, 1976, Royal Oak; body found Dec 26 along I-75 in Troy.

• Kristine Mihelich (10) — abducted Jan 2, 1977, Berkley; body found Jan 21 in Franklin Village.

• Timothy King (11) — abducted Mar 16, 1977, Birmingham; body found Mar 22 in Livonia.

Victimology & Pattern

Three victims — Stebbins, Mihelich, and King — were held alive for several days, bathed, fed, and ultimately killed by asphyxiation.
Jill Robinson differed markedly: she was killed by a shotgun blast shortly after abduction.

All four bodies were left in public, carefully positioned near roadsides, suggesting deliberate staging.

Investigation

• A multi-agency task force led by Michigan State Police formed in March 1977.

• Witnesses reported a blue AMC Gremlin with a white side stripe near at least two abduction sites.

• More than 18,000 tips were processed during 1977–1978.

Examined Leads

During the investigation, police reviewed possible overlaps with the contemporaneous North Fox Island exploitation ring (involving Francis D. Shelden, Gerald Richards, and John David Norman).
No verified evidence ever connected the OCCK murders to that network.

Later Suspects & Persons of Interest

Archibald Edward Sloan

A convicted pedophile who owned a blue Gremlin.
Hairs with mitochondrial DNA matching hairs found on the victims were recovered from his vehicle, but nuclear DNA excluded him as the killer. Sloan was labeled a person of interest, never charged.

Christopher Busch

A convicted child molester and son of a GM executive.
He was arrested for sexual offenses in 1977, failed polygraphs related to OCCK, and was released on unusually low bail shortly before Timothy King’s abduction. Disturbing drawings and ligatures were recovered from his home, but the Michigan State Police have never confirmed these items as OCCK evidence.
Busch died in 1978 from an apparent suicide. Many investigators and families consider him the most plausible suspect, though MSP does not name him as the killer.

Current Status (December 2025)

• No one has ever been charged in the four canonical murders.

• Michigan State Police continue to re-test evidence using updated forensic techniques.

• Surviving families — particularly the Stebbins and King families — remain active advocates for transparency and resolution.

The Oakland County Child Killer investigation is distinguished by the brutality of the crimes, the methodical handling of the victims, and long-standing questions about overlooked leads and investigative decisions. Nearly fifty years later, the identity of the offender — or offenders — remains unknown.

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Author's Note: As a disabled survivor using assistive technology, which changes day by day pending health - (#zebralife). For resources : RAINN or Support for Men at 1in6.org are lifelines.

I am a collateral victim of John David Norman - we are healing together.

 I do hope this helps others realize they were not ever alone. 

If any information is incorrect pls contact me or leave a comment. These are complex cases and a lot of bad information already out there.