United States of America v. Walter Zachary Treat

Tulsa, Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer Clinton James represented the Defendant charged with receipt and distribution of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2262.

In 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a CyberTip from Kik that Walter Zachary Treat, age 31, was sharing videos that showed children being sexually abused. Tulsa County deputies began investigating the tip and discovered that Treat was the user. A search warrant was executed at his home, and several electronic devices were seized. While speaking with investigators, Treat admitted to receiving and sharing images and videos of children being sexually abused.

When investigators reviewed Treat’s devices, they found 18 videos and more than 60 images, including prepubescent children being sexually abused. Additionally, investigators saw that Treat was chatting with someone on Facebook about luring children into bathrooms so he could sexually assault them. The images and videos found on his devices were sent to the National Child Victim Identification System, managed by the NCMEC, for identification. Twenty-three individuals were identified and allowed to submit victim impact statements to the court.

Treat was detained in November 2025 and will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Robert prosecuted the case.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 135 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release and was assessed $100.