Owasso Man Jailed for Child Porn Downloads

Owasso Man Jailed for Child Porn Downloads

A 33-year-old Owasso man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for downloading and distributing child pornography, making him the number one offender in Oklahoma.

Michael Joseph Moreland was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill to serve 121 months imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

According to court documents, Moreland knowingly received, distributed, and possessed at least 2,947 images and 50 videos of child pornography on his computer between June 2022 and May 2023. These included images and videos depicting infant/toddler abuse, bestiality, and bondage of minor child victims.

In the days leading up to Moreland’s arrest, he was frequently in the top five and often the number one downloader of child pornography in Oklahoma. A federal statute for victims of child pornography allows defendants found guilty of child pornography trafficking offenses to pay restitution to known victims. The court in this case ordered $15,000 in victim restitution.

Moreland will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The Homeland Security Investigations, Edmond Police Department, and Owasso Police Department investigated the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jiang prosecuting.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section lead PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims.

For more information about PSC, please visit the DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.