How Could You? Hall of Shame-Trent Allen McKenna UPDATED
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Tuttle, Oklahoma, adoptive father Trent Allen McKenna was charged with “with possession of child pornography after an “extensive” cache of child pornography images were discovered on a hard drive taken from his former Fort Supply home.”
“In addition to a felony charge for possession of child pornography, Trent Allen McKenna was also charged Wednesday with a felony for violation of the computer crimes act.
He was arrested Thursday afternoon in Tuttle and is being held in Grady County Jail in Chickasha awaiting transfer to the Woodward County Jail. Woodward County Sheriff Gary Stanley said because his department is currently short-staffed he’s not sure when McKenna will be brought to Woodward, but “hopefully we’ll have him here and ready for arraignment on Monday.” According to court documents, the charges came more than a year after Woodward County District Attorney’s Investigator Steve Tanio began investigating McKenna following allegations that McKenna made sexual advances toward several minor females, including his then 14-year-old adopted daughter.
The affidavit filed along with McKenna’s charges states that Tanio interviewed the adopted daughter on Jan. 13, 2010. During that interview, the affidavit states the daughter told Tanio that “In the past couple of months she had viewed pictures of ‘real girls’ and of ‘full frontal nudity of girls between the ages of 13-16,” on Trent(‘s) … laptop computer in the bedroom of the Fort Supply home.” Following that interview, Tanio obtained and executed a search warrant on Jan. 19, 2010 to retrieve any and all electronic storage devices from the home.
Those devices, which included computer hard drives, digital cameras, and several gaming systems including a PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, were then handed over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for analysis, according to court affidavits.
Analysis of all the devices resulted in a total of “1.7 million image files that they (FBI) had to look through,” Tanio told The News Friday.”
“Tanio said it took 16 months to charge McKenna “because it took so long to analyze all the image files.” “It was very labor intensive and time consuming” to sort through the 1.7 million images, he said.
At the time of the allegations, court documents state McKenna and his family, which included his wife, the adopted daughter and 3 boys, lived in the 500 block of Main St. in Fort Supply.”
“Department of Human Services removed the children from the home on Jan. 19, 2010 and placed them in a shelter.
The News was not able to ascertain Friday whether the children were ever returned to the home.”
Former Ft. Supply man charged with felony possession of child pornography
[The Woodward News 5/6/11]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: “A former county resident charged with possession of child pornography and violation of the computer crimes act was in Woodward County District Court for a bond hearing on Tuesday.
McKenna was charged after a 16-month investigation that began when District Attorney Investigator Steve Tanio interviewed McKenna’s adopted daughter, according to a court affidavit. The investigation came after allegations McKenna made sexual advances toward several minor females including the adopted daughter, who was 14 at the time, court documents show.
The interview occurred on Jan. 13, 2010 and the girl allegedly told Tanio about the images she had viewed on McKenna’s laptop computer of “real girls” and of “full frontal nudity of girls between the ages of 13-16,” according to the affidavit.
A search warrant was obtained on Jan. 15, 2010 and executed on Jan. 19, 2010. The warrant allowed Tanio to retrieve any and all electronic storage devices from the home, according to the affidavit for the search warrant. At the time of the allegations, McKenna and his family lived in Fort Supply, court records show. He was living in the Oklahoma City area when charges were filed and was arrested in Tuttle.
McKenna was not charged until 16 months later because of the vast amount of images, 1.7 million, that had to be searched Tanio said in the affidavit. He said investigation of McKenna for possession of child pornography was “held in conjunction with a DHS case.”
According to the affidavits, a Department of Human Services child welfare worker told Tanio that based on allegations of sexual abuse (against McKenna), DHS removed the children from the home on Jan. 19, 2010 and placed them in a shelter. The 3 boys were eventually returned to the home.
On Tuesday, McKenna’s Attorney Keith Nedwick said that 5 months before the May 2011 arrest McKenna had been living with his wife and 3 boys.
Judge Bozarth asked if there had been any allegations the boys were sexually abused and Assistant District Attorney Susan Meinders said there wasn’t.
Nedwick also argued that from the start of the investigation to the eventual filing of felony charges, McKenna attended all the court hearings, an indication that he was not a flight risk.
While the state agreed to a bond reduction, Meinders asked that McKenna not be allowed to live with minors, not be allowed to have contact with any alleged victims and be restrained from using a computer.
Bozarth reduced the bond with some conditions, though not all of the ones Meinders asked for.
McKenna can live with his wife and sons if he posts bond, but cannot have access to any computers or smart phones, the judge ruled. McKenna is also not to have contact with any victims.
Bozarth also directed comments to McKenna’s family at the hearing telling them they are responsible for the welfare of the boys and to keep him “on the straight and narrow.”
As of late Tuesday, McKenna had not posted bail and remained in the Woodward County Jail”.
Hearing leads to reduction in bail
[Woodward News 8/1/12 by Jessica Bruha]
A search of Oklahoma Woodward County court records shows that Trent pled nolo contendre (similar to guilty) on October 5, 2012, His sentence was 5 years for VIOLATION OF COMPUTER CRIMES ACT and 2 years for POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY “ALL TIME SUSPENDED & TIME TO RUN CONCURRENT EACH W/ THE OTHER – DEFEN TO PAY $250 VCA + COSTS – DEFEN TO BE SUPERVISED BY DA FOR 3 YRS @ $40/MO – DEFEN TO PAY INCARCERATION FEE TO WOODWARD CO WHICH ARE TO BE CAPPED AT $2500.00″
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