Two unrelated cases involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) came before Calloway District Court Tuesday morning. A former Murray Police Department detective sergeant already facing felony charges was arraigned on new charges, as was another Murray man who turned himself in after being confronted by a group targeting suspected online child predators.
The former officer, Justin Swope, faces two counts of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over 12 and under 18 years of age and two counts of distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over 12 and under 18 years of age in the new case.
David Draper, 59, was arrested Friday on three counts of possessing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor and one count of procuring or promoting the use of a minor by electronic means.
Swope already faced 38 felony counts – 30 in Calloway County and eight in Trigg County – including multiple counts of first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, promoting a sexual performance by a minor, third-degree sodomy and third-degree rape.
The four new charges stemmed from an Internet Crimes Against Children investigation involving a cyber tip concerning a social media account investigators identified as belonging to Swope.
The citation described two images, both of which are part of a “known” CSAM series, meaning the material had previously been identified by child exploitation investigators rather than first discovered during the investigation involving Swope.
Trigg District Judge Matt Schalk, who served as special judge during the district court proceedings in Swope’s first Calloway County case, traveled to Murray to preside over Tuesday’s proceedings. Assistant Attorney General Richie Kemp, who is serving as special prosecutor in Swope’s other pending felony cases, is also prosecuting the new case.
Attorney Mitch Ryan waived formal arraignment on Swope’s behalf and, anticipating difficulty scheduling the next court date, also waived the time limit for a preliminary hearing.
“He has pending cases as the court is probably aware that he’s incarcerated on,” Ryan said. “So, time is not of (concern) as far as preliminary hearings go. We’ll waive that time limit so that we can get a date set.”
Swope will return to Calloway District Court at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30, for his preliminary hearing.
Draper was arrested Friday after going to the Murray Police Department to turn himself in, according to a press release that noted he came to the department “after being caught by a group of individuals.”
According to the citation, police spoke with Alex Rosen of Predator Poachers, who accompanied Draper to the police station and told officers he had communicated with Draper while posing as an 11-year-old girl and that Draper intended to meet with the purported child for sexual purposes.
When Draper spoke with officers, he said he had photos on his phone of a nude 13-year-old girl. Asked if he knew the girl in the photo, he said he did and “also stated he willingly saved it to his phone knowing the individuals age.”
“Draper stated he was turning himself in so that he could find out where the minor was so that she could get help,” the citation states. “Draper believes the victim lived somewhere in Tennessee.”
Draper later admitted to possessing nude images of at least three different minors and to communicating online with minors as young as 10 for approximately a year. Investigators allege Draper admitted knowingly saving about 12 images of minors and sending sexually explicit images of himself to children through Snapchat.
Police seized Draper’s cellphone as evidence. In a press release Monday, MPD said the investigation remained ongoing and additional charges were expected.
At Tuesday’s arraignment, Calloway District Judge Randall Hutchens initially denied Draper’s request for a public defender because his reported income exceeded the federal poverty line. However, with district and circuit courts out of session next week for Fall Break, Draper’s preliminary hearing had to be added to the next day’s docket, prompting Hutchens to appoint the Department of Public Advocacy to represent him for that hearing.
Draper’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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