Former OSP chaplain arrested and charged following investigation

Derrick James Staff Write, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·2 min read

Nov. 8—A McAlester man who was employed by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections as a chaplain was arrested and charged after allegedly using a state-issued computer to engage in sexually explicit chats about children.

David Prince, 40, was charged Tuesday in Pittsburg County District Court with felony counts of pornography-procure/produce/distribute/possess juvenile pornography and violation of Oklahoma statute via computer.

Pittsburg County Jail records show Prince was being held Wednesday with a $250,000 bond.

A spokesperson for ODOC states Prince was terminated Tuesday from his position as a full-time chaplain at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

An affidavit prepared by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation states investigators were notified by the state's counter terrorism intelligence center "about possible criminal activity by a state employee by the name of David Prince while using his state-issued computer."

The report states computer software is deployed by the state to monitor and record usage by state employees with findings reviewed by analysts who then forward any concerns to state agencies or law enforcement.

According to the affidavit, additional monitoring was placed on Prince's account after he was allegedly found to have been repeatedly looking at pornographic images and engaging in sexually explicit chats. The additional monitoring was put in place "to record as much as possible to see if there may be activity not captured" under standard set policy, the affidavit states.

OSBI was notified after Prince claimed "to engage in sexual acts" with minors in an Oct. 31 conversation with another person on a social media site, the affidavit alleges.

The recordings showed Prince was using two monitors and "engaging" with work-related material on one monitor while simultaneously searching for pornography and having a conversation about having sexual contact with minors, the affidavit states. Prince stated in one conversation he was having sexual contact with a minor weekly, according to allegations in the report.

A search warrant was served on Prince's residence on Monday, Nov. 6, along with a separate search warrant for his cell phone, with Prince being home and providing the phone and passcode to investigators, the report states.

"The phone was then handed off to OSBI Forensic Analysts who did an on-scene preview of the phone," the affidavit states. "During the on-scene preview of the phone, they discovered several images that would meet the legal definition of child sexual abuse material."

According to the report, Prince agreed to speak with investigators and admitted to viewing child sexual abuse material in the past "but never actively searched for it" and he denied having sexual contact with minors and said the conversations "were only fantasy."