Tulsan Sentenced for Possessing Child Pornography

TULSA, Okla. – A Tulsa man was sentenced today for Possession of Child Pornography in Indian Country, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Judge John F. Heil, III, sentenced Scott James Berkshire, 64, to 168 months imprisonment, followed by lifetime supervised release. Upon his release, Berkshire will also be required to register as a sex offender.

In July 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip that included sexually 
explicit images of two minor children. Agents obtained a search warrant for the account associated with the tip and found that Berkshire was the account holder. Court records show that Berkshire was involved in several chat rooms discussing the sexual abuse of children. In one chat, Berkshire chatted with an undercover agent about meeting to engage in sexual intercourse with a child under 12-years-old.

When agents searched Berkshire’s devices, they found photos and videos of children under 12 years old being sexually abused. Berkshire will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Homeland Security Investigations, the Tulsa Police Department, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Hockenbury prosecuted the case.

This investigation was conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations Tulsa-led Tornado Alley Child Exploitation and Trafficking Task force. This operation is a proactive investigation by local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement within the Northern District and is focused on predators seeking to exploit children.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.