Oklahoma Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Sexually Exploiting a Child

EUGENE, Ore.—An Oklahoma City man was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for sexually abusing a child and capturing the abuse on video.

Jeremy Lee Peterson, 44, was sentenced to the statutory maximum sentence of 360 months in federal prison and a life term of supervised release.

According to court documents, on February 18, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding a video depicting child sexual abuse. Agents reviewed the video’s file data and suspected it was created in a specific apartment in Eugene, Oregon. The agents identified distinctive physical characteristics of the abuser in the video, including a scorpion tattoo on the man’s chest.

On February 24, 2022, investigators searched the apartment and identified furniture and bed sheets consistent with those appearing in the abuse video. Investigators also found photos of Peterson on social media and obtained a booking photo from a previous arrest, both of which matched the likeness and physical attributes, including the scorpion tattoo, as depicted in the abuse video. During their investigation, agents learned the minor victim and the victim’s parent had recently moved to a residence in Oklahoma that matched Peterson’s most recent address.

On February 28, 2022, agents in Oklahoma executed a search warrant on Peterson’s address and found the minor victim and parent living there. Peterson was arrested and the child was rescued. Soon after, agents learned that Peterson had recently helped the victim and the victim’s parent move to his residence in Oklahoma.

On March 15, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a one-count indictment charging Peterson with sexually exploiting a child and producing child pornography.

Months after Peterson was charged, his minor victim contacted law enforcement to discuss the abuse in Oregon and disclose additional abuse in Oklahoma.

On March 27, 2024, Peterson pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a child.

This case was investigated by HSI in the District of Oregon and the Western District of Oklahoma, with assistance from the Eugene Police Department. It was prosecuted by William M. McLaren, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are
encouraged to contact HSI at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at report.cybertip.org.

Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct
involving a minor. It is important to remember child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes
being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document the victims’
exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, re-victimize and re-traumatize the
child victims each time their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org.

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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit
www.justice.gov/psc.