Cherokee County Man Arrested on Multiple Child Porn Charges

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Okla. – Today agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit arrested 37-year-old Joseph Lance Berry on multiple child pornography charges.

The case originated earlier this month when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) forwarded a cyber tip they received from an internet service provider to the OSBI. The OSBI ICAC Unit opened an investigation upon receiving the tip. Based on their investigation, Berry was identified as the individual possessing hundreds of pornographic photographs and videos of children.

Berry is a lifetime aggravated sex offender from a 2012 conviction of Lewd Acts to a Child Under Sixteen Years of Age. Berry is actively on probation through the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Today he met ICAC agents at his probation office in Cherokee County at which point he was taken into custody without incident. He was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on charges of Aggravated Possession of Child Pornography, Distribution of Child Pornography and Violation of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act.

If you suspect a child is being sexually exploited, contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children immediately at 1-800-THE-LOST or www.cybertipline.com. You can also contact the OSBI Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit at (800) 522-8017 or [email protected].