An investigation by an Edmond police detective working with the Oklahoma Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force led to the arrest of an OklahomaCity man accused of possessing "large amounts of child pornography."
Investigators say they discovered an IP address sharing some 62 files between February and June, and noted that at least 26 of those files were "known files of interest"in other child pornography investigations. The ICAC task force traced the IP address to the apartment of Michael Lee Sapp, 43.
Detectives serving a search warrant say they discovered five devices containing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, including explicitphotos of girls as young as 6 years old. They say the accused man admitted to using the devices to download, store, and share sexually explicit imagesof children.
Sapp was arrested on June 30 and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on multiple complaints of aggravated possession of child pornography and possessionof child pornography, as well as one count each of distributing obscene materials and violation of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act. As of this writing,he has not bonded out of jail and remains in custody. Formal charges have not been filed, and Edmond police say the investigation is ongoing.
The ICAC Task Force program is a national program under the United States Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.The federal program provides funding and training to state and local law enforcement agencies to develop ICAC task forces to investigate internet sexcrimes against children, including child pornography and online solicitation of minors.
The Oklahoma ICAC task force operates under the OSBI and is comprised of 51 "affiliate partners" across the state. These partners include DistrictAttorney's Offices, county Sheriff's Departments, and local Police Departments. In and around the metro area, the Canadian County Sheriff's Office,the Guthrie Police Department, and the Edmond Police Department are involved in multiple internet sex crime investigations. According to the OSBI,ICAC investigations in Oklahoma have more than doubled over thepast year.
Learn more about internet sex crimes here, or call (405) 608-4990 tospeak with a lawyer about your case.
