TULSA, Okla. — Darin Ehrenrich with Tulsa Police Department's Special Victims Unit says over the last five years, sex crimes have increased by more than 40%. In recent months, crimes involving individuals in positions of power have also become more frequent.
The latest involving Glenn Garbrah, a detention officer at the Tulsa County Jail, charged with first degree rape of a 15 year old girl. Garbrah allegedly bought nude images of her on Snapchat.
"She reports that when they met up, he drove her to a secluded area and forced her to perform sexual acts on him, and eventually raped her during that encounter," Ehrenrich said.
This comes after former megachurch pastor Robert Morris pled guilty to child sex abuse charges the same day. And just a couple months ago, Tulsa Area Emergency Management Director Joseph Kralicek was arrested on child porn charges. Ehrenrich says it's more common for victims not to come forward in these cases.
"It can take people decades to be able to come forward because they don't believe that they will be believed that this perpetrator committed these crimes against someone," Ehrenrich said. "They have that reputation to precede them that hey, I'm an authority, I'm in a position of public trust."
The use of social media led to two of these alleged crimes—Kralicek on Kik and Garbrah on Snapchat. Criminals continue finding new ways to commit crimes.
"It can be challenging, but on the other side of that, it can really enhance our investigations because there can be all this digital evidence that's available to us," Ehrenrich said. "It's the same pattern of behavior, just different methods."
Digital evidence, plus newly empowered victims like in Garbrah's case, only helps investigators in policing these crimes.
"This is a 15 year old child that was allegedly perpetrated on by an adult in a position of power. And again, that can be very difficult for those victims to come forward and make reports," Ehrenrich said. "I'm very proud of her for having the courage to come forward."
In Garbrah's case, police say they found evidence of at least three other girls around the same age exchanging sexual images with him.
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