Rogers County Investigator Explains Process Of Tracking Down Child Predators After Owasso Man Sentenced

An Owasso man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after federal prosecutors say he was the number one downloader of child pornography in the state.

Federal prosecutors say Michael Moreland had nearly 3,000 pictures and 50 videos of child sexual abuse material.

Lt. John Haning says these cases are horrifying, and they are on the rise, but what makes it worth it is when they are able to save a child.

The law requires internet providers and social media sites to tell law enforcement when they see sexual photos or videos of children.

Hanning is an investigator for the Rogers County Sheriff's Office.

He says calling it child pornography doesn't really give people a true picture of the type of images being viewed by child predators.

"A lot of videos, especially of younger children, they are being sexually assaulted and raped, and the audio associated with these videos is horrifying," said Haning. 

He says once they get a tip of child sexual abuse material, they start the legal process of getting warrants for the IP address included in the tip.

"To identify who actually owns that, whether it comes back to a cell phone or someone's Wi-Fi account or their home internet," said Haning. 

Once investigators find an address, they do background checks on everyone at the address, then get search warrants to confiscate electronic devices.

Hanning says investigators have to look at every video and every picture of each case, trying to identify things like curtains, mattresses, and even children. 

"We don't really know exactly what some of these images and videos are until we get to the house and actually start interviewing and really comparing the house and the story to the videos and images that we did see," Haning said.

Haning says the number of these cases has doubled since 2021 and is expected to triple in the next few years with no end in sight. He says arresting people who watch these images and videos is the closest investigators can get to proactive policing. 

"These people have the desire to do what they're watching on video, and if we're able to stop that before they actually become hands-on, that's saving some child or many children," said Haning.  

The law in Oklahoma says anyone who suspects a child is being abused must report it. Anyone who suspects someone of having child pornography can report that to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.