Sapulpa Man Sentenced To 25 Years In Federal Prison

A Sapulpa man is headed to a federal prison after investigators discovered disturbing images on his phone and computer.

The U.S. Justice Department says 32-year-old Justin Boyer admitted to asking a 10-year-old girl from Colorado girl to send explicit photos of herself.

Justin Boyer was sentenced today to 25 years in federal prison. The U.S. Attorney's Office says Creek County Sheriff's Office found out about the case in October of last year but this is all part of a nationwide initiative to crack down on child porn cases across the country.

United States Attorney Trent Shores says this case was very disturbing

"I'll tell you the children in Oklahoma and the children everywhere are safer with Justin Boyer in prison," said Shores

He says Justin Boyer was living in Sapulpa when he started asking a 10-year-old girl from Colorado to send him nude photos.

"He then exploited her using text messages and manipulated her to encourage her to do some things for his sexual gratification that she would videotape or photograph," said Shores.

Shores says Creek County investigators reached out to the FBI because the investigation crossed state lines. The U.S. Attorney's Office then prosecuted the case and Boyer was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.

In a case where a grown man is sexually exploiting a 10-year-old little girl, a serious and hefty penalty is very appropriate,” said Shores.

Shores says this case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to tackle the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation. Shores says they've seen an increase in cases in the past few years because of social media.

"We’ve seen children sought out on video games online / we've seen Instagram and Snapchat where somehow the predator develops an online relationship," said Shores.

And with the growing threat, Shores says it's important to know who your kids are talking to.

"It's certainly something we should be aware of as parents and children need to be aware of the threats that exist not only in our local community but on the world wide web," said Shores.

Boyer will remain in custody for now then will be transferred to a Federal Prison.

He will also have to be on probation for 10 years after his release and will have limited access to the internet.