Ringleader of a Child Porn Enterprise Gets Life

TULSA Okla. – A Broken Arrow man who sexually exploited a young child and was an administrator for a transnational child exploitation chat group was sentenced to life in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Chief Judge John F. Heil III sentenced Cameron Kelly McAbee, 33, to life in federal prison.

“McAbee was the ringleader in a child porn enterprise identified through an investigation by the FBI and our task force partners. In addition to McAbee a group of 47 other predators were identified and have or will face justice in their respective jurisdictions for the trauma they have caused to children,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners in Oklahoma and across the nation will continue to identify, track, arrest and prosecute pedophiles who harm the most vulnerable among us.”

On July 26, 2021, the FBI linked the administrator of an online account engaged in child porn activities to McAbee and his Broken Arrow address. The FBI executed a search warrant of the residence and McAbee was taken into custody that same day.

In his plea agreement, McAbee admitted that from July 1, 2019, to July 26, 2021, he knowingly engaged in a child exploitation enterprise, taking part in a series of felony violations comprised of more than three separate incidents, involving more than one victim, and in concert with more than three other people.

McAbee admitted to being an administrator of an online messenger platform and group chats where members of the group exchanged numerous images and videos depicting the rape and molestation of children. He stated that the groups involved at least 21 members and at least eight child victims. As part of gaining access to one of the groups, McAbee required members to show proof of access to a child victim and they were expected to share images and videos of the sexual abuse of that child to maintain access to the group, as well as share other images and videos of child sexual abuse obtained elsewhere. McAbee admitted to being partly responsible for confirming a prospective member’s access to a child victim and admitting them to the group. McAbee also admitted that from July 1, 2019, to July 26, 2021, he had a minor engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions that he would share online in these group chats.

The investigation into McAbee and the chat groups, led to the identification of 47 other alleged child predators from the United States, Australia, Canada, and Norway and led to the rescue or identification of more than 100 child victims.

McAbee will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office (Tulsa Resident Agency), FBI Atlanta Field Office, Broken Arrow Police Department, and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Nassar and Ashley M. Robert are prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.