Probation ordered for Wichita cop who traded child porn, stalked co-worker on Instagram
A former Wichita officer caught trading child pornography and talking about his sexual interest in underage girls on the social media platform Instagram while he was still a cop has been ordered to serve three years of probation over the illegal conduct. Thomas R. Wallace pleaded guilty on Aug. 4 to two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child.
He was sentenced Monday by Sedgwick County District Judge Jeffrey Syrios in this and a misdemeanor stalking case where the 31-year-old was accused of harassing a fellow Wichita Police Department officer, also on Instagram, court records show.
The probation carries an underlying prison term of 26 months, which he could be ordered to serve if he fails to abide by its conditions, including completing sex offender treatment and having his internet history scrutinized, according to his plea agreement.
Wallace had been employed by the Wichita Police Department for five years when he was arrested in February 2021. Authorities investigating an Instagram account created by the then-officer discovered a number of sexual conversations where he asked for and exchanged nude photos and videos, talked of wanting to have sex with girls as young as 11 years old and shared sexually explicit images of kids with other users, according to an affidavit released by the court last year.
The crimes happened between May 25, 2020, and Jan. 12, 2021. Wichita police spokesman Officer Chad Ditch said Monday that Wallace is no longer employed by the department. He was terminated in April, Ditch said — more than a year after his arrest. He earned more than $35,000 in base pay and more than $42,000 in total compensation last year, city salary records show.
