Former Tulsa Emergency Management Director makes first court appearance on child pornography charges

The former Tulsa Area Emergency Management Executive Director was in court for the first time Wednesday since he was arrested on child pornography charges.

Related: Tulsa Area Emergency Management Director Joe Kralicek resigns from position following arrest

Tulsa County Deputies arrested Joe Kralicek last week after they say Kralicek had been sending and receiving numerous pictures and videos of child sexual abuse material on the Kik app.

Kralicek resigned from his position as executive director of TAEMA on Tuesday night, then was in court on Wednesday morning with his attorney. We asked Kralicek for a comment as he walked into the courtroom, but he stayed silent.

What happened in court?

Kralicek was in court for his initial appearance, where the judge read the charges. Kralicek's attorney asked the judge to reschedule the hearing for September 10th so the attorney could read through the police reports on the case.

"It's not really unusual for attorneys to say hey, I'm here, I need a little more extra time before I can kind of get my arms around this case to really see what I'm going to need to do to defend my particular client," said District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler.

What led to Kralicek's arrest?

Tulsa County Deputies arrested Kralicek last week after they say they got a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Child that Kralicek was using the Kik app to share and receive child sexual abuse material.

Investigators say Kralicek uploaded several graphic videos in his office using his city of Tulsa IP address and discussed sexual fantasies involving children.

Kralicek was not put on leave from his position after his arrest, and Mayor Monroe Nichols called for Kralicek to be immediately fired. Kralicek chose to resign Tuesday night.

"We are going to treat him exactly the same way we would do if this was some person living down in Glenpool that had a job at QuikTrip. Everybody who is charged with a crime has the exact same presumption of innocence innocence and it is our job to make sure we prove that case before a judge or a jury," said Kunzweiler.

Prosecutors say the investigation is ongoing, so additional charges could be filed.

The Tulsa County Board of Directors has appointed Tony Roda as interim director of TAEMA following Kralicek's resignation.

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