ICE HSI Dallas investigation targets child exploitation in Oklahoma

DALLAS - ICE's Homeland Security Investigations Dallas announced Aug. 26 that 39 defendants have been indicted or charged by complaint and several others have been identified and remain under investigation following a multiagency child exploitation enforcement operation in the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Operation Clean Sweep III was conducted in partnership with the Tornado Alley Child Exploitation and Trafficking Task Force, known as TACETT, which HSI created to bring together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners to identify, investigate and prosecute child exploitation offenses. More than 25 law enforcement agencies participated in the operation.

"Operation Clean Sweep reflects HSI's unwavering commitment to protecting children and holding predators accountable," said HSI Dallas Deputy Special Agent in Charge Antwoine Jones. "This operation brought together law enforcement partners at every level with one mission: identify victims, remove them from harm and pursue justice against those who exploit children. HSI Dallas will continue working with our partners to ensure these investigations continue."

From March through August 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma received referrals from eight of the district's 11 counties, resulting in 66 cases being opened for investigation. To date, 39 defendants have either been charged by complaint or indicted, with additional matters still under investigation.

Of the 39 defendants charged, 26 were charged with possessing child sexual abuse material, eight were charged with producing child sexual abuse material, and nine were charged with coercion and enticement for allegedly using phones and applications to target children. As a result of the operation, 21 children were identified and separated from defendants. That figure does not include children depicted in child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement agencies will continue partnering with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to identify additional victims.

From January through August 2026, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent 8,621 CyberTips to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children unit. Of those tips, 2,086 cases were opened for investigation. Law enforcement partners in the Northern District of Oklahoma received 586 cases for further investigation.

As part of the operation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Muscogee Creek Nation Lighthorse Police Department, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, the Pawnee County Sheriff's Office and the Quapaw Nation Marshal Service conducted compliance checks on individuals required to register as sex offenders in the Northern District of Oklahoma. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act provides a comprehensive set of standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States. In total, law enforcement checked 887 individuals in 10 of the district's 11 counties. Investigators found that 34 individuals were not compliant with SORNA standards.

"Clean Sweep III is ending as an operation; however, the cases are not," said U.S. Attorney Chris Nassar. "Investigations and prosecutions will continue on every open matter that has not yet been charged. The team that built this operation is not standing down. The experience, the relationships, and the enforcement effort will continue. We will keep bringing child predators to justice in the Northern District of Oklahoma."

Participating law enforcement agencies included HSI Dallas, the FBI, the Tulsa Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, the Broken Arrow Police Department, the Bixby Police Department, the Glenpool Police Department, the Mayes County Sheriff's Office, the Rogers County Sheriff's Office, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Oologah Police Department, the Creek County Sheriff's Office, the Skiatook Police Department, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, the Bristow Police Department, the Pryor Police Department, the Owasso Police Department, the Bartlesville Police Department, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, the Muscogee Creek Nation Lighthorse Police Department, the Pawnee County Sheriff's Office and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

If you or someone you know is a victim of child exploitation, confidential help is available. Resources and contact information are available through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Call 911 immediately to report a missing child and then the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678 to seek assistance.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. attorneys' offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

An indictment or complaint is merely an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.