Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Rogers County Woman Sentenced for Production of Child Pornography

 A Rogers County woman was sentenced today in federal court for producing child pornography involving her young child, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. 

U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan sentenced Brittney Jo Wallace, 29, of Claremore, to 25 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

“Brittney Wallace will spend the next 25 years in federal prison for taking sexually explicit photographs of her own child,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Thanks to the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tilli Villalobos and Chris Nassar along with detectives and agents with OSBI’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and Tulsa’s Homeland Security Investigations Child Exploitation Task Force this child predator is behind bars.”

“We believe in giving a voice to the voiceless,” said Ricky Adams, Director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. “The child involved in this case was just a toddler. Our ICAC Agents worked diligently, along with our other partners involved in this investigation, to give that child a voice. We are proud to have substantially contributed to the effort to get this predator off the street and to ensure justice is served.”

On April 28, 2021, Wallace pleaded guilty to production of child pornography by a parent. Wallace admitted that she had the toddler touch her in a sexually explicit manner while she took photos using her cell phone on Sept. 26, 2015.

In 2016, Wallace’s children were taken from the home after a doctor found signs of severe child abuse. The defendant’s parental rights were later terminated. During the 2016 investigation conducted by the state of Oklahoma, authorities seized the defendant’s phone which was later suppressed. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals later found the seizure and subsequent search of her phone were proper, and the phone was turned over to investigators. When authorities conducted a forensic examination of the phone, they discovered the child pornography. 

On March 1, 2021, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Wallace on a federal arrest warrant. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Rogers County Sheriff’s Office, and Claremore Police Department conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matilda M. Villalobos and Christopher J. Nassar are prosecuting the case. AUSA Villalobos is a prosecutor from the District of New Mexico. She volunteered to assist prosecution efforts here in the Northern District of Oklahoma due to increased jurisdictional responsibilities regarding crimes involving Native American victims or defendants and that occur within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Cherokee Nation Reservations.

No comments: