Oklahoma Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

 An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty today to producing and possessing child pornography.

According to court documents, Hunter Jacob James Hope, 21, of Muldrow, engaged in a pattern of conduct that involved threatening to share sensitive (typically undressed or partially undressed) images of minors unless the minors either engaged in sexual acts with him or provided him over the internet with sexually explicit images of themselves.

Hope pleaded guilty to seven counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. According to his written plea agreement, he will face a term of imprisonment between 262 to 327 months. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The plea agreement also requires that Hope pay restitution.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson of the Eastern District of Oklahoma; and Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas made the announcement.

HSI investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.