I didn't do anything special to break today's story on the child sex slave ring near Ash Fork. I just read public documents and made phone calls, which is something I do on a daily basis.
The case, for me, started in mid-March, when I was doing my usual check of Coconino County Superior Court calendars and saw that a Donald Leacock was up for arraignment on 24 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. I inquired with the sheriff's office, thinking I would get enough for a page 2 daily on a purveyor of kiddie porn.
The spokesman conferred with detectives. Then he came into the report-reading room with a lieutenant. Yes, Leacock is being held on child pornography-related charges right now, but we're investigating more than that.
With economy of words, the LT told me that investigators suspected Leacock of running a child sex slave ring, focusing on his adolescent bride. The investigation would be complex and extremely sensitive; a story at that time would have been detrimental to the investigation. I could have the information -- and because I was pro-active, I could have it first -- once they felt they had made enough progress to share it with the public. I would have to be patient.
Good scoops come to those who wait.
