Federal law enforcement charged 39 defendants in Operation Clean Sweep III, a multiagency child exploitation enforcement operation in the Northern District of Oklahoma announced Aug. 26. The sweep was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations Dallas division in partnership with the Tornado Alley Child Exploitation and Trafficking Task Force.
More than 25 federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies participated in the operation, which ran from March through August 2026. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma said that 66 cases were opened for investigation following referrals from eight of the district's 11 counties. Of the 39 defendants charged or indicted, 26 were accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, eight of producing it, and nine of coercion and enticement through phones and applications to target children.
Authorities identified and separated 21 children from defendants as a result of the investigation. Law enforcement continued to work with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to identify additional victims. From January through August 2026, the center sent 8,621 reports to Oklahoma's Internet Crimes Against Children unit, resulting in 2,086 cases opened for investigation.
As part of the operation, federal and tribal law enforcement conducted compliance checks on individuals required to register as sex offenders. In 10 of the district's 11 counties, officers checked 887 individuals and found 34 were not compliant with federal registration standards.
"Clean Sweep III is ending as an operation; however, the cases are not," said U.S. Attorney Chris Nassar. "Investigations and prosecutions will continue on every open matter that has not yet been charged."