Three arrested in C. Oregon child pornography raids
A month-long investigation and three raids this week on homes in Madras, near Sunriver and in Bend have led to the arrests of three men on child pornography-related charges, Oregon State Police said Wednesday.
In November, the Oregon State Police was assigned a child pornography investigation in Central Oregon. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children operates a 24-hour hotline, known as the CyberTipline for receiving online and telephonic reports of internet crimes against children, said OSP Captain Bill Fugate.
Electronic service providers are required under federal law to report certain types of child sexual exploitation to the CyberTipline. NCMEC distributed information regarding child pornography to Oregon Department of Justice — Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
In November, the OSP Major Crimes Section out of Bend was assigned a case, assisted by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Madras Police Department, Fugate said.
Around 7 a.m. Monday, a search warrant was executed at 576 NW Glass Drive in Madras. The suspect of the search warrant was Jeffrey Worley. 54. Troopers said the investigation at the Glass Drive residence revealed Worley had been trading images and videos of children being sexually abused.
Worley was lodged into the Jefferson County Jail on charges of first-degree possession of material depicting sexually explicit conduct of a child and first- and second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse. Initial bail was $1 million, according to jail records. Troopers said more charges may follow.
That investigation led investigators to a second suspect, Grover Dean Cockrum, 62, at 17325 Lodgepole Lane south of Sunriver. The two men are accused of sharing images of child pornography through electronic devices, Fugate said.
Around 7 p.m. Monday, a search warrant was executed at Cockrum’s home. Fugate said the investigation found Cockrum in possession of child pornography and images of children being sexually abused.
Cockrum was lodged in the Deschutes County jail on nearly 40 charges. including first-degree possession of material depicting sexually explicit conduct of a child, first- and second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, first-degree sex abuse, first-degree sodomy and using a child in sexually explicit conduct.
Cockrum was arraigned Wednesday on charges related to abuse of a 1-year-old, District Attorney John Hummel said.
Prosecutors will present the case to a grand jury for review, pending Cockrum’s next court hearing on Dec. 28 at 2 p.m.
“Sexual abuse of a child is perhaps the most horrific of all crimes,” said Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel. “If Mr. Cockrum’s guilt is proven, the State will seek a sentence that locks him up so long he can never do this again.”
In another, unrelated investigation, OSP served a search warrant at a Bend residence under similar circumstances, Fugate said.
On September 26, Skype reported a Cybertip to the NCMEC, which distributed information regarding child pornography to the Oregon Department of Justice — Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. ICAC Task Force subsequently referred the investigation to OSP.
After gathering details from that Cybertip, a detective investigating the case for several months was able to determine child pornography was being electronically received at a Bend home, at 61445 Little John Lane.
On Tuesday around 7 p.m., OSP, Bend police and Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at the Little John Lane home, Fugate said. Investigators contacted Peter Jason Davis, 37, and an investigation revealed he was in possession of child pornography.
Davis was lodged at the county jail in Bend on more than 30 charges of first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse and first-degree possession of materials depicting sexually explicit conduct of a child. His initial bail totaled more than $300,000.
Fugate said the criminal investigations continue, and more information will be released when appropriate. To report crimes involving the exploitation of children, contact your local law enforcement or call NCMEC at 800-843-5678.
