Judge denies molester bail in child-porn case
BY DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
5/16/12 at 5:32 AM
A magistrate ruled Tuesday that a Tulsan who has already served prison time for molesting a 3-year-old girl in a church building will be kept in jail while new federal child pornography charges against him are pending.
U.S. Magistrate Frank McCarthy found that Matthew David Slinkard, 29, poses a danger to the community and that no bond conditions could be set to ensure that he would not again commit a "very serious offense," as Slinkard did about a decade ago.
Slinkard pleaded guilty in March 2002 in Tulsa County District Court to one count of lewd molestation. Police said he was a nursery volunteer and fondled a girl on Sept. 23, 2001, in a room at Tulsa Bible Church, 5838 S. Sheridan Road. The girl later told her mother.
He was sentenced to five years in prison and was released from custody in November 2006, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Slinkard was charged May 9 with distributing and possessing child pornography. The indictment, which was filed under seal, was made public Friday when Slinkard was arraigned after being arrested in Owasso by agents with the FBI's Innocent Images Task Force.
The federal indictment alleges that Slinkard distributed child pornography last Dec. 7 and possessed the illegal material on March 13.
Agent Ian Buchanan testified Tuesday that the case originated when a law enforcement officer in Colorado reported downloading more than 400 images of child pornography from an Internet address that was traced to an Owasso business where Slinkard was employed.
Also Tuesday:
- James Howard Burns Sr., 64, pleaded guilty in an unrelated child-pornography case.
Burns admitted possessing the material on Dec. 31. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Cyran told the court Tuesday that Burns' adult stepdaughter called Tulsa police when she discovered child pornography on Burns' computer.
Cyran said 9,452 computerized images of child pornography and 148 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct were found in Burns' collection.
Burns, who is free on bond, faces more than five years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 4, according to Cyran.
- In yet another case, Michael Geister, 28, of Tulsa was charged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday with possessing computerized images of child pornography on Jan. 18, 2011, in a case that is part of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Cyran said Geister was arrested Friday and was released on bond on Tuesday.
David Harper 918-581-8359
david.harper@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Matthew David Slinkard: He poses a danger to the community, a magistrate says
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