Deputies have arrested a Fayetteville man in a child pornography case following a federal investigation this month by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Jesse Oziah, 18, was arrested Nov. 19 on suspicion of federal charges of producing and possession child pornography. He was being held Saturday in the Washington County Detention Center for federal authorities, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Records showing that Oziah had been arrested Nov. 19 were revealed in federal court documents filed Nov. 27.
Oziah allegedly took photographs of himself engaged in sexual activities with a young local boy and also took pictures of the boy’s genitalia, a Homeland Security agent states in a complaint filed earlier this month in federal court in Fayetteville. Investigators also allegedly found other inappropriate sexual images of children on Oziah’s computer in his Fayetteville home, according to the federal complaint.
Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security received a tip from the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children saying they found a child pornography image that had been uploaded onto Facebook, a popular online social media platform.
Investigators traced the IP address of the illegal upload to Oziah’s home, after which authorities obtained a warrant and searched the residence, according to federal court documents. Authorities found an iPod Touch in Oziah’s bedroom that showed inappropriate sexual images of a man and a young boy, according to court documents.
The home’s owner identified the boy as someone Oziah knew and who had occasionally spent nights at Oziah’s home, according to the federal complaint. Authorities also reportedly found a computer with sexually explicit images of children. Oziah admitted he sometimes used the computer to download and view sexually explicit material involving children, according to court documents.
A federal warrant was issued for Oziah’s arrest the same day the federal complaint was filed.
