TULSA, Okla. – A federal jury Wednesday found a Broken Arrow man guilty after his electronic devices were found to have more than 4,000 images and videos depicting the rape and molestation of children, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Earl Hardy Morrow, 39, was convicted of distribution and receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
“My office and our local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners seek to protect children not only from their sexual abuser, but also from their revictimization through the repeated viewing of that abuse in child pornography,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Individuals like Earl Morrow must be held accountable for their role in a vile industry that preys on children across the globe.”
On Feb. 20, 2020, Morrow distributed and received child pornography via electronic means. From Nov. 5, 2019, to Feb. 27, 2020, Morrow further possessed visual depictions involving prepubescent minors and minors who were under 12 years of age.
On Feb. 20, 2020, multiple files of child sexual abuse material were sent to the Tulsa Police Department’s Cyber Crimes Unit via the BitTorrent network from an IP address that was later tracked to a Broken Arrow user. The final torrent file distributed to Tulsa Police contained multiple video files depicting the sexual abuse of children.
Officers served a search warrant on the address where Morrow resided on Feb. 27, 2020. During the search, Morrow told officers that he used BitTorrent on his computer and that he had illegal files on the computer.
During the forensic extraction and review of Morrow’s devices, the following items were found in Morrow’s bedroom and transported to the Tulsa Police Department for forensic extraction and review:
– 32GB Thumb drive connected to a keychain on Morrow’s car keys, found on the desk in his room–3140 pictures and 25 videos of child sexual abuse material found.
– Computer built by the defendant– 546 pictures and 85 videos of child pornography, as well as the qBittorrent program.
– Laptop found on Morrow’s desk- 39 pictures and 79 videos of child pornography.
– 32 GB thumb drive found on Morrow’s desk– 497 pictures and 54 videos of child pornography, includes 1 RTF document, titled “Daddy’s Collection,” where the author is Morrow, and the contents of the document lists child pornography search terms.
– 2 GB thumb drive found on Morrow’s desk– 5 videos of child pornography.
The Tulsa Police Department led the investigation into Morrow with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations.
“The Tulsa Police Department’s Cyber Crimes Unit and Homeland Security Investigations consistently locate, investigate, and arrest child predators. These officers and agents are key partners when holding defendants accountable at trial,” said Johnson.
Visiting U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree from Kansas presided over the trial. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Nassar, Nathan E. Michel, and Stacey P. Todd are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part the Northern District of Oklahoma’s Operation Clean Sweep, which charged 33 child predators. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Nassar led the operation in conjunction with more than a dozen local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies. The case is also 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.
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