A man from Prue, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to over 30 years in federal prison for sexually abusing a minor and receiving child pornography. U.S. District Judge John F. Heil, III handed down a sentence of 365 months to Caleb Paul Toothman, age 43, for Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country and Receipt of Child Pornography. After his release, Toothman will be under lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender. He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.
According to court documents, Toothman contacted a 14-year-old victim through an online platform in December 2023 and began communicating via social media. On two occasions, the minor left their home to meet Toothman, who then drove the victim to a park where he committed sexual abuse. Authorities said that Toothman also requested and received explicit photographs from the minor.
Toothman is identified as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and will remain in custody until he is transferred to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Tulsa Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan Michel and Kate Brandon.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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 Justice.gov/PSC,” according to the press release.
