TULSA, Okla. — Deputies arrested a Tulsa Boys' Home employee on Tuesday in a child pornography investigation.
Tulsa County deputies took 43-year-old Matthew Whitaker into custody around 5:30 p.m., saying they found more than 7,000 images and videos from his electronic devices.
Detectives say it started when someone reported Whitaker's Twitter account on Monday.
"That's what sometimes makes these investigations a little easier," says Tulsa County Sheriff's Office Detective Jason Weis with the Child Predator Unit. "It's digital footprint. It's a digital evidence. We got IP addresses, and IP addresses are like a phone number or a thumbprint. They're exact."
Weis says after they traced the flagged Twitter account to Whitaker, a Facebook search revealed he worked at the Tulsa Boys' Home. He says as they questioned Whitaker, they executed a search warrant for his home and found his cell phone, computer, a hard drive, and sexual devices.
He says they found thousands of photos and videos of young girls being sexually assaulted and forced to pose nude.
"People that are really heavy into trading, downloading and viewing child pornography, they're really good at organizing and categorizing, and this individual, Mr. Whitaker, had it very well organized by names, dates, style, platforms."
Weis believes what they found on Whitaker's cell phone is just the tip of the iceberg. He anticipates they'll find even more, once they go through Whitaker's computer. He also says they are working with the Tulsa Boys' Home during the investigation.
Whitaker is facing charges for possession of child pornography and violation of the Computer Crimes Act.
The Tulsa Boys' Home Executive Director and CEO Gregg Conway released the following statement Wednesday afternoon:
“Mr. Matthew Whitaker’s alleged criminal behavior has absolutely nothing to do with Tulsa Boys’ Home. Neither I, nor any of my staff, had any knowledge of any improprieties or criminal wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Whitaker at Tulsa Boys’ Home, or anywhere else for that matter.
At Tulsa Boys’ Home, we do everything possible to thoroughly vet all of our staff and volunteer mentors and tutors before ever being allowed to interact directly with any of our boys, or even work at Tulsa Boys’ Home in any capacity.”
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