Child sex predators mix fantasy and actions for terrible trend

Predators are a fact of nature.

However, those who prey on children offer a shocking insight into an unnatural world often linked through the computer, be it through viewing and trading child pornography to those who sexually abuse children.

Comanche County District Attorney Kyle Cabelka said the two acts are separate wings to the same bird. And with a noticeable growth in prosecutions for the two types of crimes in Southwest Oklahoma’s court systems, this bird is becoming a monster.

Since The Constitution has been keeping track of crime stories published since March 28, there have been 41 stories regarding child sex abuse and pornography cases in Comanche, Caddo and Stephens counties. Some of these include convictions for cases preceding 2024.

Cabelka said it’s a crime that is surging.

“My office has seen a dramatic increase in these types of felony filings,” he said. “In fact, after speaking with one particular Special District Judge just today, she believes that she has seen more lewd acts/proposals to a minor and possession of child pornography cases in the last six months than in the last couple of years.”

These types of cases are ones taken seriously by Cabelka’s office. A father of two young daughters, these charges are taken personally by the prosecutor.

“My office is very aggressive when it comes to any type of case concerning a child,” he said. “We will prosecute any case with a child victim to the fullest extent the law allows.”

According to a study by Johnfitch.com, using data from the FBI and Children’s Bureau, Oklahoma is ninth in the nation with the highest rates of sex offenses in American in 2024 with many of these cases involving children.

CHILD SEX ABUSE

Many of those accused of child sex abuse use the internet to make contact with children and young teens.

Besides those who have a familial or close contact relationship with these abused and exploited children, Cabelka believes the internet offers avenues for adults to attempt to groom children for potential abuse. These include inappropriate contact through social media sites. With many of these cases, the ones attempting to make contact with children end up speaking with law enforcement officers working undercover through the internet.

However, there has been a rise of citizens group conducting “stings” of subjects. Once they gather enough evidence they will livestream contact made with the suspect. Two recent cases led to charges being filed against Comanche County. Men due to the evidence gathered.

Thomas J. Williams-Pope, 26, of Lawton, was outed due to a group called “Predator Poachers.” Charges were filed Aug. 16 after the group conducted instant messaging conversations that led to what Cabelka said was an attempt to meet with who he believed was an 11-year-old girl.

In May, a group called Oklahoma Predator Prevention confronted Ricky Lynn Spriggs, 64, of Geronimo, following ongoing conversations where Spriggs believed he was speaking with a 15-year-old boy. The incident, captured on a Facebook livestream, showed Spriggs admit he’d been soliciting sexual conduct. After confronting Spriggs, the Comanche County Sheriff’s Department was contacted and evidence was turned over, leading to his arrest.

Cabelka said these groups serve a positive purpose, overall. But he hopes in the future, law enforcement is contacted before a confrontation to prevent the potential for violence.

“I have the upmost appreciation and respect for private citizens who try to prevent children from being abused as well as trying to bring those to justice would abuse a child,” he said. “However, there are both safety and legal concerns that I have to consider. My request would be for those private citizens to involve law enforcement if possible.”

In the case of James Janis, 57, of Lawton, he was charged with attempting to groom and have a sexual relationship with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl. He was actually speaking with investigators from the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office.

Cabelka believes Janis was days away from attempting to take the relationship from online contact to physical before the arrest. What is most disturbing, according to the prosecutor, is that Janis sent the girl photos of himself, his Italian ice cream business, and of places and girls where he delivers his ice cream. He said Janis has been a prominent presence at Southwest Oklahoma sporting events, water parks, swimming pools and other places where children are engaged in activities for years.

CONNECTION BETWEEN CHILD PORN AND SEX ABUSE

Cabelka said there are studies that show that anywhere from 52 to 80 percent of people who view child porn have admitted to having urges to actually abuse a child.

“It seems as if, at some point viewing images and videos is not enough for the perpetrator so they have to do more to satisfy those urges,” he said. “In my experience, that is when child predators then look for children that they already have a close relationship with such as friends or family members. That is when the grooming process starts.”

It’s not just those downloading child pornography. Someone has to create the content to share with others online. It’s unfortunate that this can be the state of life, according to Cabelka. It’s a worthy effort to seek justice, he said.

“Unfortunately we do see cases where a defendant was actually abusing a child and recording the abuse,” he said. “The law allows my office to prosecute a defendant for not only the abuse, but the manufacturing, possession and if applicable the distribution of the child pornography as well.”

In one recent case that Cabelka described as the “largest cache of child pornography,” much of it containing images and video of extreme violence and possibly at least one murder, it offers a chilling reminder to alleged depravity.

Dominic Andreas Tikovsky, 33, received charges Aug. 21 in Comanche County District Court for 10 felony counts of aggravated possession of child pornography and a count of violation of Oklahoma Statue via computer, and a misdemeanor charge of threatening to perform an act of violence.

Cabelka told The Constitution there is information Tikovsky had been living in Germany before moving to Lawton and that he may have been fleeing similar charges overseas.

“My office has asked Andy Moon with the U.S. Marshsals office to look into it further,” he said.