Oregon man to serve 30 years for sexual abuse of Oklahoma child

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oregon man was sentenced to serve 30 years in federal prison for traveling to Oklahoma with the intent to have sex with a minor.

The Comanche County Sheriff’s Department was among the law enforcement entities to make the case.

Clayton Clement Stubbs, 24, was sentenced Wednesday in the U.S. Western District Court to serve 360 months (30 years) in federal prison for the charge of interstate travel with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. It’s the statutory minimum for the crime.

U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti also ordered Stubbs to pay $10,000 in restitution. In announcing the sentence, the court noted the egregious conduct of the defendant.

“This lengthy sentence is proof that the predatory behavior of sexually exploiting children will not go unpunished,” said Robert Melton, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle Division HSI Dallas. “As result of a tip from the HSI Cyber Crimes Center and exemplary work by HSI special agents and federal prosecutors, this defendant is behind bars, preventing him from ever harming a child again.”

Stubbs was indicted Aug. 17, 2022, by a federal grand jury for the charge as well as a count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Stubbs pleaded guilty Nov. 3, 2023, to the single count and admitted to traveling to Oklahoma with the intent to have sex with a minor, Troester stated.

The investigation began in May 2022 after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) became aware of images showing what appeared to be an adult male sexually abusing an underage female, according to the indictment. The child was identified and investigators spoke with her.

The girl told authorities the man in the explicit images was Stubbs, and that he’d traveled to Oklahoma from Oregon in 2020 to engage in the illegal behavior. Flight records confirmed that Stubbs traveled to Oklahoma in October of 2020. Despite blocking Stubbs from her social media accounts following the 2020 incident, the girl said Stubbs found her online again and had been attempting to contact her.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Tornado Alley Child Exploitation Task Force, according to Troester. Members of the Task Force in the Western District of Oklahoma include Homeland Security Investigations, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma City Police Department, and Comanche County Police Department.

The Tornado Alley Child Exploitation Task Force is part of the Western District of Oklahoma’s implementation of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, Troester stated.

“The despicable behavior of this defendant, coupled with his repeated attempts to continue to abuse a minor, are clear indicators that swift, decisive action was necessary for the public’s safety,” he stated. “I applaud the work by Homeland Security Investigations in aggressively pursuing this child predator and bringing him to justice.”