TULSA, Okla.-Kenneth O’Neal Batten was sentenced today to serve 300 months in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child, announced United States Attorney Danny C. Williams Sr. for the Northern District of Oklahoma. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Chief Judge Gregory K. Frizzell ordered Batten to be placed on supervised release for the remainder of his life.
“Today’s prison sentence is a result of the defendant’s unspeakable and heinous acts committed against his young daughter," said U.S. Attorney Williams. “The Northern District of Oklahoma is committed to protecting a child’s opportunity and right to have a childhood that is free from sexual abuse, trauma, and exploitation."
Batten, 37, of Claremore, Oklahoma, was charged on September 8, 2015. He pleaded guilty on Jan. 12, 2016.
According to court documents, Batten admitted that, from June 28, 2015 to August 4, 2015, he produced videos of sexually explicit conduct involving his 17 month old daughter. He shipped and transported the sexually explicit videos and images via cell phone. In addition, Batten admitted to possessing over 1100 images and 211 videos of child pornography.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI); and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Clinton Johnson and Shannon Cozzoni.
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, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
