29-Year-Old Woodward Man Sentenced to Serve 50 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child Pornography

OKLAHOMA CITY—Today, DEAN LEROY FREERKSEN III, 29, of Woodward, Oklahoma, was sentenced by United States District Judge David L. Russell to serve 600 months in federal prison for producing child pornography, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

"While we cannot erase the criminal acts perpetrated on exploited children or restore the innocence that has been taken, we must make sure that child predators are brought to justice and removed from our communities," said U.S. Attorney Coats. "This 50-year sentence clearly demonstrates that our society will not tolerate predators who sexually exploit innocent children. The extraordinary efforts of the agents and prosecutors are to be commended."

On August 17, 2010, Freerksen was convicted by a jury after a trial. Evidence at trial showed that Freerksen and his wife, Alicia Danielle Freerksen, 21, used a digital camera to take multiple photographs of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct with an 11-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl. The abuse occurred at the Freerksen's Woodward home in the summer of 2009. The abuse came to light when one of the child victims reported it to her mother, who reported it to law enforcement.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Russell took into consideration Freerksen's prior criminal history, which included convictions for lewd molestation of a child and child stealing. Following the 50-year prison term, Dean Freerksen must serve the remainder of his life on supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Prior to trial, Alicia Freerksen pled guilty to possession of child pornography and testified against her husband at his trial. Earlier this month, Alicia Freerksen was sentenced to serve 120 months in federal prison for her role in this crime. Upon her release from prison, Alicia Freerksen must serve five years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

These cases were the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy Sengel and Brandon Hale.