Child Victim Identified After Years of Investigation and an Oklahoma Couple Now Faces Federal Charges

TULSA, Okla. - A federal criminal complaint charges Dakota Horn, 25, and Willie Joseph Horn III, 28, with federal child exploitation offenses related to the production, receipt, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material.

Following a years-long international investigation into a previously unidentified child sexual abuse material (CSAM) series known as "SpiralTattoo," federal authorities have charged two Oklahoma residents after investigators identified both subjects depicted in the material and confirmed the identity of a child victim.

According to court documents, investigators determined that Dakota Horn and Willie Horn had access to the child victim while providing childcare and were able to connect the defendants to the material through a combination of witness statements, social media evidence, CyberTipline records, physical identifiers, and statements made during the investigation.

The investigation began in 2022 when an international law enforcement partner provided information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding a CSAM series depicting the sexual abuse of a very young child. Despite extensive efforts, investigators were initially unable to identify the victim or the adults responsible for creating the material.

Through years of investigative work involving FBI personnel, victim identification specialists, digital forensic analysis, open-source intelligence, CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and coordinated law enforcement efforts, investigators ultimately identified the child victim and the two adults allegedly responsible for producing the abuse material.

Federal authorities are also seeking information about any additional victims who may have had contact with Dakota Horn or Willie Horn during the relevant time period.

Investigators believe the defendants had regular access to multiple children between approximately 2020 and 2023 while residing in the Tulsa-area. Anyone with information concerning potential victims, suspicious conduct involving either defendant, or other relevant information is encouraged to contact the FBI.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office at (405) 290-7770 or submit information online at tips.fbi.gov.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation along with Tulsa Police Department and Broken Arrow Police Department are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alicia Hockenbury and Kenneth Elmore are prosecuting the case.

A Criminal Complaint is merely an allegation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.