Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

OKLAHOMA CITY – JAYLYN MARQUICE BELL, 23, has pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a minor, announced United States Attorney Timothy J. Downing.

On February 19, 2019, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment that charged Bell with using a minor female born in 2000 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing an iPhone video.  Bell was arrested at an Oklahoma City motel on November 16, 2018, and has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since January 2019.

Bell pleaded guilty earlier today, immediately before U.S. District Judge Charles B. Goodwin empaneled a jury for his trial.  Bell admitted to recording himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct with a minor female. 

At sentencing, Bell faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison.  The government has agreed in a plea agreement not to advocate for more than 20 years.  He could also be required to serve three years of supervised release and fined up to $250,000.  At sentencing, which will take place in approximately 90 days, the court will consider all of Bell’s relevant conduct under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Division, the Oklahoma City Police Department, and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys K. McKenzie Anderson and Jacquelyn M. Hutzell are prosecuting the case.

This case is also part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice, 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.

Reference is made to public filings for further information.