OLATHE, Kan. — Most people would agree that 14,000 images of child porn on a computer would be reasonably clear-cut grounds for criminal charges.
But nearly two years after finding the evidence on the computer of an Olathe man, police are only now preparing to send the case on to federal authorities, and the delay has left one Olathe woman in limbo and in fear for her children and herself.
Olathe Police detectives executed the search warrant on 44-year-old James Christmas in September of 2010. Police had been contacted by Christmas’ then-wife, Kristin Brumm, after she found some questionable discs in her husband’s home office.
“They found videos of children doing strip teases, prepubescent children they found videos of children having sex with adults and with other children,” said Brumm, who brought her case to the attention of FOX 4. “It was devastating to me, I had no idea. We were married for eight years, I had no idea.”
Brumm says that things had been rocky between her and Christmas – just two weeks earlier, she says that he chased her into the bedroom.
“(He) broke a big large hole in the center part of the door,” said Brumm. “When he heard me calling the police, he fled the house.”
Christmas never came back – he was later sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct. But he still hasn’t been charged for what police found on his computer hard drives.
According to court documents, at the couple’s custody hearing in May of 2011 Olathe Police Detective Patrick Foster testified that he found roughly 18,000 hits related to child pornography on Christmas’ computer.
When asked if Olathe Police planned to send the evidence to the federal government for investigation and charges, Foster said yes, adding that it should reach federal officials in “two months.”
Yet six months later, at another custody hearing, the same detective testified that there were 14,000 child porn images on the computer. When asked by an attorney when the FBI would be receiving the case, Foster testified, “I would anticipate forwarding it on probably within two months at the most.”
But Brumm says that another six months has passed, and still no charges. She says that the lack of action by police has left her in a tough position.
“(It’s) difficult for me to get custody of my children full custody. I can’t leave the state because until charges are filed in this case, I’m stuck here,” said Brumm.
A restraining order prevents James Christmas from seeing his ex-wife or his kids, but it expires in September and a judge has already told Brumm that if Olathe Police don’t advance the case to federal authorities, then he cannot renew the restraining order.
“I know for my own children and the other children out in the community that the sooner he is behind bars, the sooner we’re all safe,” said Brumm.
Shortly after Brumm spoke to FOX 4, the Olathe Police Department sent FOX 4 a statement that reads, in part, “Our portion of this investigation is completed and the next step will be presenting it to the US Attorney`s Office. These types of cases do take time to investigate and some take longer than others.”
Police told Brumm that they are now in the process of making an appointment with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They told FOX 4 that the detective in the case has a large caseload, but did not say why the case – now 21 months in the making – took so long to wrap up.
Police insisted to FOX 4 that our questions did not have anything to do with the timing of their completion of the case.
As for Kristin Brumm, she says that she is glad that she finally took her case to the media.
“I want closure and I want to feel safe,” said Brumm. “I haven’t felt safe in two years. I want to feel safe I want my children to feel safe.”
