Oklahoma City Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing and Possessing Child Pornography

Jason DeWayne Tittle, 40, of Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty May 12 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.

The charges cover conduct that included distribution of material depicting minors under 12 years old. Federal investigators recovered more than 600 images and at least 10 videos from devices linked to Tittle, per the Department of Justice announcement.

The plea agreement stipulates a statutory minimum sentence of five years in prison on the distribution count, with a maximum of 20 years, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. Tittle must also register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

The case forms part of the Justice Department's Project Safe Childhood initiative, which coordinates federal, state and local law enforcement to combat child sexual exploitation. Project Safe Childhood has produced more than 10,000 federal convictions since its launch in 2006.

In the Western District of Oklahoma alone, prosecutors have secured dozens of similar child pornography distribution convictions in the past three years.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 11. Under the plea, Tittle forfeits all devices and digital media used in the offenses. The new guilty plea shifts the case from pretrial proceedings to the sentencing phase, where U.S. Sentencing Guidelines will calculate an advisory range that starts above the five-year mandatory minimum because of the volume of material and the ages of the victims depicted.

This marks the latest federal conviction obtained through investigations that trace online distribution networks. The Department of Justice has pursued similar cases under 18 U.S.C. § 2252, which sets penalties for knowing distribution and possession of child pornography transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

Courts in the Western District of Oklahoma have sentenced defendants in these cases to an average of more than seven years in prison when images of infants and toddlers are involved.

Primary sources: U.S. Department of Justice