Clinton J. Johnson U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma
A man from Tulsa, Joseph Gunther Sampson, has been sentenced to over ten years in prison on charges related to child pornography. According to a statement from U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson, Sampson, aged 31, received a 121-month sentence followed by 15 years of supervised release. After serving his sentence, he will be required to register as a sex offender. A decision regarding restitution will be determined at a later date.
The U.S. District Judge John D. Russell passed the sentence. During an investigation into another child pornography case, the FBI uncovered conversations involving Sampson where he discussed sexual activities with minors. In August 2024, the FBI interviewed Sampson. He permitted the search of his mobile phone, which he claimed was relatively new. Despite his claim, agents found multiple pieces of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on the device. Sampson admitted to the FBI that he had been viewing child pornography for five years and distributed CSAM through a mobile application.
Further investigation at Sampson's residence led to the discovery of three more electronic devices. A forensic examination showed that Sampson possessed hundreds of images and videos containing CSAM from December 2023 to August 2024, including numerous videos of minors below the age of 12.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) played a significant role in analyzing the images recovered by investigators, helping to identify both known and unknown victims of child sexual assault. Since its creation in 1998, the NCMEC’s CyberTipline has become a central reporting mechanism for online child exploitation, having logged more than 195 million reports.
The FBI handled the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Ihler prosecuting the case. The situation falls under the Project Safe Childhood initiative from the Department of Justice, aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse. This effort, started in May 2006, engages federal, state, and local resources in locating and prosecuting offenders and rescuing victims. For more details on Project Safe Childhood, visit Justice.gov/PSC.
