A Tulsa man pleaded guilty today to receipt of child pornography after his state conviction was vacated due to lack of jurisdiction, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Matthew Steven Janson, 37, knowingly used the internet to receive child pornography from April 18, 2016 to May 25, 2016.
According to the plea agreement, Janson admitted to possessing at least 600 images of child sexual abuse including the abuse of prepubescent minors who had not attained 12 years of age. The materials were possessed and knowingly accessed via Janson’s computer and within the Muscogee Nation Reservation. U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell set sentencing for Oct. 15, 2021.
Janson is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Janson’s state conviction was vacated due to the Supreme Court’s ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma. He previously pleaded guilty in state court and was sentenced to 10 years with 5 years suspended.
The Tulsa Police Department, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements’ Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cymetra M. Williams is prosecuting the case. Ms. Williams is a prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Jersey. 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 Nation and Cherokee Nation Reservations.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
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