Okemah Man Pleads Guilty To Sexual Exploitation Of Children

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Steven James McNinch, age 35, of Okemah, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to Sexual Exploitation of Children, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a), punishable by not less than 15 years’ imprisonment followed by a term of supervised release of up to life, up to a $250,000.00 fine, or both. 

The Indictment alleged that on or about August 6, 2017, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendant employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a person under the age of eighteen years to engage in sexually explicit conduct, as that term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2256(2)(A)-(B), for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct, and such visual depiction was produced using materials that have been mailed, shipped, and transported in interstate and foreign commerce. 

The charges arose from an investigation by the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office, the Okmulgee County Department of Human Services, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.  

Assistant United States Attorney Edward Snow represented the United States.