Buckeye Union High School Principal Joseph Kinney faces one count of luring a minor for sexual exploitation after allegedly engaging in explicit conversations with an undercover FBI agent who posed as a 12-year-old girl on the app Whisper.
Multiple interactions with Kinney
According to the report, Kinney communicated on the app with the undercover agent on two occasions in July of this year. Whisper is a social media app which allows for anonymous posting and messaging between users. On July 22, the agent posted: "Bored LOL What should I do." The agent then received a response from the username "Macabre Pure," who was later identified as Kinney. According to the report, Kinney's response suggested she perform an explicit act. The agent messaged back that she was 12-years-old to which Kinney responded, "I don't mind you age."
The report further details exchanges in which Kinney tells the agent her age is "hot." When the agent sent a clothed, age-regressed photo of a young female to Kinney, the report says he responded that she is "sooooo cute, so hot and that he would love to see more of her." When the agent requested photos of Kinney, he responded with "two full-body clothed photographs of himself in which he is completely identifiable." In another message sent to the agent, Kinney wrote he would love to "come rescue her and they would have a good time."
Further messages are provided in the report, with Kinney discussing and describing explicit sexual acts with the undercover agent and requesting nude photographs.
The conversation resumed on July 23 briefly with Kinney stating in one message that he is at work at the time of the conversation.
Supena and Search Warrant
Following these interactions with the undercover agent, a subpoena was submitted to Whisper. The "Macabre Pure" account was shown to have been activated on July 16, 2024. Further subpoenas were submitted to Cox Communications and Verizon Wireless to confirm Kinney's IP address and phone number.
A residential search warrant at Kinney's Goodyear home was issued by the FBI on September 3, 2024 after he was detained in a traffic stop. Analysis of his phone showed the Whisper app had been deleted. Kinney was interviewed at his home in a Phoenix Police command vehicle.
"Joseph admitted that he has used the Whisper app on his phone," reads the police report. "Joseph said he used Whisper because he liked that it seemed like fantasy and it was anonymous."
During the interview, Kinney told police he talked to numerous female users on the app who claimed they were underage. However, Kinney told police he "never actually believed they were underage and assumed they were all adults and just engaged in fantasy chat and role-playing."
In particular, Kinney described one user who claimed to be nine years old, but that her photo did not appear to be nine, so he assumed she was an adult.
"Kinney recalled talking to a 12-year-old female," reads the report, "He said he remembers engaging in a sexualized conversation but thought it was just role-playing and fantasy chat. He confirmed they never established that it was just for role play, and the female only told him she was 12 years old. In his mind, he just assumed it was role play."
Kinney denied sexual attraction to children in the police interview and "said he would never engage in sexual acts with a child." He told the officer he felt "stupid and embarrassed" for his decisions.
The case was transferred from the FBI to the Phoenix Police Department that same day. Phoenix detectives on the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children FBI Child Exploitation Task Force also assisted in the investigation.
Kinney is currently booked in Maricopa County Jail.
InBuckeye spoke with Buckeye Union High School District Superintendent Steve Bebee, who referred to the school's statement released on September 3 regarding Kinney's being placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.
"The Buckeye Union High School District has been informed that BUHS Principal Mr. Joe Kinney is under law enforcement investigation for a personal matter unrelated to his work with the school or district," reads the statement. "Per district policy, Mr. Kinney has been placed on administrative leave until further notice. In the interim, Ms. Kristin Koke will assume the duties of principal at Buckeye Union High School. Because this is a personnel matter, we cannot share further details at this time. Our focus is on ensuring our students have access to an outstanding educational experience."
