Tulsa Man Accused Of Child Pornography Remain Behind Bars

A Tulsa man accused of child pornography remains in the Tulsa County jail. David Abston went before a federal magistrate Tuesday afternoon and waived his right to a detention hearing. That means he's

Tuesday, November 21st 2006, 10:06 am

By: News On 6

A Tulsa man accused of child pornography remains in the Tulsa County jail. David Abston went before a federal magistrate Tuesday afternoon and waived his right to a detention hearing. That means he's not requesting release on bond at this time.

News on 6 anchor Tami Marler was in the courtroom and says officials from the Tulsa County District Attorney's office and the Tulsa Police Department also attended Abston's hearing, even though it's a federal case.

In less than ten minutes, they learned they'd have plenty of time to investigate David Abston.

It started with a federal indictment, which alleged the owner of a Broken Arrow skating rink, had pornographic images of children on his computer. Once David Abston's face made the news, Broken Arrow and Tulsa Police were inundated with calls from concerned parents.

â€œThey're coming in directly to child crisis detectives they're also coming in through 911 and the Tulsa Police non-emergency line.â€ Tulsa Police officer Jason Willingham says detectives are being meticulous and thorough, interviewing a number of people who claim David Abston victimized them. "We have received several complaints. Several allegations against Mr. Abston and we're trying to determine what charges to be filed."

David Abston's defense attorney says his client waived his detention hearing because he knew he'd made a mistake when he failed to appear in federal court last week. Keith Ward says for now, Abston will remain in the Tulsa County jail until his federal trial in January. "We feel like time is on our side and we're gonna take as much time as we should to do a thorough investigation."

Ward says that's one area on which he and police can agree in this case. He says his client is innocent and the growing number of allegations. He says that's a product of hysteria and because of Abston's perceived wealth, the prospect of financial gain.

Tulsa Police officer Jason Willingham: "we're looking at it from both sides and we just feel that we need to do a thorough investigation."