(WVLT) – An officer with the Knoxville Police Department was arrested Monday on federal charges involving the production of child pornography, according to officials with the United States Department of Justice.
Officer Dan Roark, 47, was arrested and appeared in court on the charges.
According to a criminal complaint, the mother of the victim, gave consent to search the content of the victim’s phone. Records from Verizon Wireless showed the victim’s mother was taking pictures of her daughter and sending them to Roark.
The mother was arrested in her home in Scott County, Virginia, on Saturday and told investigators that she sent the pictures to Roark but knew him as Dan Thomas when they met in 2007.
“(Victim’s mother) told law enforcement officers she had met ROARK in 2007 on Yahoo and the two began communicating. At some point during the relationship, ROARK requested (Victim’s mother) take CSAM (child sexual abuse material) pictures of her now ten (10) year old daughter. Evidence shows that these images were produced as early as age five (5) or six (6).”Court Documents
The complaint stated Roark paid her money for the pictures, sometimes up to $200, according to phone records obtained in the court documents.
The arrest sparked from an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Scott County Sheriff, Virginia, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Roark will have a detention hearing on Nov. 9, and be kept in federal custody until then.
Roark started at KPD in 2007 and was last on patrol in 2020.
“The allegations against Dan Roark are deeply disturbing and abhorrent. His alleged actions shock the conscience and, if proven true, demonstrate monstrous behavior against a truly innocent victim. I am sickened by these accusations, which in and of themselves have brought immeasurable discredit on our agency and the entire law enforcement profession. We have and will continue to cooperate fully with federal investigators. We will also act with great urgency to resolve this matter and repair the damage done to public trust in the wake of these disturbing allegations.”KPD Chief Paul Noel
The Office of Professional Standards opened its own investigation into the incident as well.
