TULSA, Okla. — Jason Weis, the founding member of the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office Child Predator Unit, said child pornography is not a victimless crime.
“I feel like there’s a calling on my life and so I get a little bit of a grace in that. And I understand like I said, it’s business, but you know, it’s hard to hear all of those cries for mom or cries for dad and the distress and the pain and the agony that these kids go through when they are just being completely brutalized,” Weis said.
The unit currently works five to 10 cases per week, but the caseload sometimes varies.
“Right now, we are seeing a little bit of an uptick and I think it’s because kids are out of school and they’re home and they’re on their switches, they’re on their social media, they’re on their devices,” Weis explained.
Earlier this week, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office arrested Joseph Kralicek, the Tulsa County Area Emergency Management Executive Director, in connection with a child pornography investigation. Weis said they received a tip about a Kik account containing child pornography, which led to the initial investigation.
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When asked why people think they can get away with such crimes, especially with the digital footprint people leave, Weis responded, “I think they think they can get away with it because their addiction, because their obsession with this, far outweighs common sense.”
Weis and his team utilize various tools, including IP addresses and screen names, to aid their investigations.
“It’s just good ol’ fashion police work. Surveillance and questioning and asking questions and just kind of digging into the data and evidence,” Weis said.
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Due to the mental toll of the job, Weis sees a therapist and leans on his wife and friends for support on particularly difficult days.
The TCSO Child Predator Unit currently consists of two investigators, but is looking to add a third team member soon.
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