Updated November 30, 2022 — Former Logan County Assistant District Attorney booked into Tulsa County Jail
Logan County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Etherington is now on the other side of the law after he was arrested for possession of child pornography, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations.
“It is with great personal outrage and devastation that I announce the arrest this evening of an attorney employee of my offices,” District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas said in a release.
In September, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) forwarded fourteen cybertips, linked to a single suspect, to the OSBI Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit.
The investigation identified Etherington, 53, as a possible suspect related to the cybertips.
On Monday, OSBI ICAC Agents executed a search warrant at Etherington’s Stillwater residence. Based on the results of that search, Etherington was taken into custody and transported to the Payne County Jail.
He was booked on one count of aggravated possession of child pornography and one count of violation of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act.
Etherington, who was booked in the Payne County Jail at 6:30 p.m., has worked in Payne and Logan counties for eight years.
“My offices have zealously prosecuted this crime and I, personally, find the manufacture, distribution, and possession of child pornography to be both disgusting and incredibly damaging to individual victims and society,” Thomas said.
Thomas added, “While the accused stands innocent of the alleged crime until proven guilty, my review of the investigation has resulted in this person’s (Etherington) dismissal from employment by my office.”
Thomas says it would not be appropriate for her office to prosecute the arrested and has initiated the process to recuse and ask the Attorney General to assign the case to another District Attorney outside of the district.
“I must sincerely thank the OSBI, Internet Crimes Against Children division, for their diligence in finding these offenders throughout our state, regardless of who they may be. Let me be clear that my loyalty is to you, the people I represent in my district, and in upholding the law and protecting our citizens, particularly the most vulnerable of us,” Thomas said.
Thomas concluded, “the people of our State should be proud of this division of OSBI, their complete professionalism and their mission to protect children. Again, I cannot express how dismayed and disappointed I am about this development.”
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