An Osage County man working as a train conductor at the Tulsa Zoo has been arrested for possession of child pornography.
On Thursday, the Tulsa Police Department's Cyber Crimes Unit conducted a search at the home of Kim Bowman, 65. After reportedly finding evidence of child pornography at his home, police arrested Bowman on complaints of possession of child pornography, aggravated possession of child pornography and violation of the computer crimes act. Aggravated possession of child pornography refers to the possession of 100 or more sexually explicit images of minors under the age of 18. Police say the images allegedly possessed by their suspect involved young girls between the ages of 7 and 12.
Tulsa police initially booked the man into the Tulsa County Jail before realizing that his home, which is within Tulsa city limits, actually lies in Osage County. Upon realizing that county had jurisdiction over the case, police transferred Bowman to the Osage County Jail.
Tulsa Police Department Cyber Crimes Sgt. Jeremy Nolan says that the suspect "admitted his mistakes."
Bowman is a part-time employee of the Tulsa Zoo, where he has worked as a train conductor since March 2015. After learning of his arrest, Tulsa Zoo officials issued the following statement:
"Tulsa Zoo Management, Inc., today learned a part-time employee has been arrested. The employee had been employed with the zoo since March 2015 and passed all required background checks. TZMI has suspended the employee effective immediately and for the duration of the criminal investigation. As a family destination, we take any such allegations seriously and will cooperate fully, if requested, with any police investigation. To date, the zoo has not been contacted by law enforcement."
Aggravated possession of child pornography is a felony sex crime punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Possession of child pornography is a Level 1 sex offense requiring any person convicted of this crime to register as an Oklahoma Sex Offender for 15 years.
Image credit: Kim Bowman, Facebook
