A Southwest Missouri task force focus on crime in the digital world is using connections at the FBI and Homeland Security to solve crimes stretching far beyond the Four States.
Joplin Det. Larry Roller spends pretty much all of his time online. But his work has a real world result, like the arrest and conviction of David Lee Perkins on child exploitation charges.
“Once they started the investigation, they passed me his mobile electronics – he had some phones and tablets and things,” says Det. Larry Roller.
Where they found evidence of an 11 year old victim in Joplin, and it didn’t stop there.
“We were able to identify another subject out of the state of North Carolina with multiple, multiple children uh child victims in that state as well as potentially others around the country,” says Det. Chip Root.
It lead to the Crystal Kipper and Ali Kemp Memorial Award, which recognizes outstanding work in preventing and responding to the exploitation of children. Both detectives share the credit with the rest of the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force and their connections outside the Four States. Root sits on an FBI task force and Roller works weekly with the Department of Homeland Security.
“We do collaborate with them and share information and they can assist us with investigate especially those that go outside the country,” says Det. Larry Roller.
Both Root and Roller appreciate the award but add the best reward is finding justice for young victims.
