A 22-year-old Bahamian student has been sentenced to 220 months in U.S. federal prison for multiple crimes involving child sexual abuse materials, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced this week.
Chrystano Peder Carmelo Cooper, who was lawfully residing in the United States on an F1 student visa, was convicted of four charges: Sexual Exploitation of a Child/Use of a Child to Produce a Visual Depiction, Distribution of Certain Materials Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Receipt of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, and Possession of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
Cooper’s sentence—18 years and four months—was ordered to run concurrently across all counts. After serving his time, he will be removed from the United States and required to register as a sex offender.
The charges stemmed from an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). According to federal prosecutors, between December 2022 and February 2024, while attending college in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Cooper induced a minor to produce and share sexually explicit images over the internet. A federal search warrant led to the seizure of Cooper’s cellphone, which investigators said contained multiple images of child sexual abuse involving the victim.
“This sentence is proof that this defendant’s perverse behavior of sexually exploiting a child will not go unpunished,” said HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard. “Thanks to a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, this child predator will be incarcerated, allowing the minor victim he abused to begin the healing process.”
United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson also emphasized the government’s commitment to prosecuting child exploitation cases. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively prosecute those who exploit and victimize children,” he said.
The case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation. More information about the initiative can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
