Instagram user said they wanted sex with young girls. Wichita cop responded: ‘So do I’
A Wichita police officer charged with the sexual exploitation of a child was caught trading pornographic images of children and talking about his sexual interest in preteen girls with other accounts on Instagram, according to an affidavit released Wednesday by a Sedgwick County judge.
During a Feb. 5 law enforcement interview tied to a misdemeanor stalking investigation, 29-year-old Officer Thomas R. Wallace admitted that he created and was the sole user of an Instagram account under the name “emilykirby2323.”
Authorities who reviewed activity on the Instagram account using a search warrant issued to the social media company discovered a number of conversations that “were sexual in nature” where Wallace would “commonly ask for and exchange nude photos and videos.”
“Many of these conversations are expressing desires to have sex with young females,” the affidavit says. There allegedly was also child porn.
Wallace has a preliminary hearing on the exploitation charge scheduled for Aug. 19, court records show. His defense lawyer did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Among messages outlined in the affidavit that led to Wallace’s arrest and criminal charges:
- A Nov. 14, 2020, exchange where another Instagram user tells Wallace that “there are just way to many young sexy looking underage girls on here” and that he would like to have sex with “younger girls.” Wallace responds: “So do I.”
- July 2020 communications with an Instagram user that included “talking about their sexual desires for underage females.” The user sent Wallace a photo of a younger girl lifting her shirt to expose her belly, to which Wallace responded: “Soo hot.” Wallace responds tells the user that “12/13” is the youngest age he would prefer. Wallace also asks “for any photos or videos” during exchanges.
- On June 5, 2020, Wallace sent a photo of four nude underage girls to another Instagram user who also exchanged explicit photos and conversation with him on May 25, 2020.
- During a March 17, 2020, communication with yet another Instagram user, Wallace is asked about his age preference for girls. He responds with “young” and “Like 11+.”
A doctor authorities asked to review six explicit photos sent from Wallace’s “emilykirby2323” account confirmed that all of the girls depicted in them were under age 18. Some showed girls younger than 12, according to the affidavit.
Stalked fellow cop from other account
Wallace, who had been with the Wichita Police Department for five years at the time of his arrest, is also facing one misdemeanor charge for allegedly stalking a fellow police officer using another Instagram account, “anonymous_fan5_0.” He has pleaded not guilty to the charge and has a bench trial scheduled for Aug. 19.
An affidavit released in that case says the female officer started receiving harassing messages from the account on Oct. 6 that commented on her appearance including:
“Always thought you were sooo sexy when id see you on out in the street working” and “ive seen you at the academy (the few times I’ve been there lately) and seeing you in normal clothes with your hair down you even more beautiful.”
The sender also asked whether the female officer had an OnlyFans account but refused to identify themselves, saying only that they were a “secret admirer,” according to the affidavit.
OnlyFans is a platform that lets people share online content, including videos, with subscribers who pay for access.
The female officer was “freaked out” because the messages were so personal, the affidavit says. She checked with several people she thought might be the sender but turned up nothing. She later contacted a police detective to launch an investigation.
The female officer eventually started responding to the messages from the “anonymous_fan5_0” account “in an attempt to gain information to identify the sender,” the affidavit says.
Those exchanges included:
- An instance on Oct. 13, 2020, where the sender says they were leaving the tag office after paying about $500 to register their 2019 vehicle
- A message where the sender said he’d visited the female officer’s home, which made her fearful and unable to sleep. On Oct. 14, 2020, at 2:21 a.m., someone rang the female officer’s doorbell three times
The female officer also disclosed to the investigator that she had received earlier messages, in the summer of 2020, from the “emilykirby2323” Instagram account. She told the investigator that there were “so many (messages) ... she had to block it.”
Using a series of search warrants and interviews, authorities say they eventually tied both Instagram accounts to Wallace. Authorities also confirmed with the tag office that he had visited and paid almost $500 to register a vehicle on Oct. 13, 2020 — which matched information in one of the messages the female officer received.
During the Feb. 5 law enforcement interview, Wallace told investigators he’d created the “emilykirby2323” account “a couple of years prior because he was ‘horny’” and also said he had set up the “anonymous_fan5_0” account, according to the affidavit.
He told investigators no one but him had access to them and admitted that he had contacted the female officer, the affidavit says.
Wallace is still employed by the Wichita Police Department but continues to be suspended without pay, agency spokesman Officer Charley Davidson said. He was hired on Jan. 4, 2016.
