Pottawatomie County deputies on Tuesday arrested a local man in a child exploitation probe, accusing him of possessing child sexual abuse material and violating the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act. Authorities identified the suspect as Matthew Decker and said he was taken into custody after an investigation that zeroed in on electronic evidence.
According to KOKH, the arrest capped a multi‑agency investigation led by the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, with support from the Choctaw Police Department and the McLoud Police Department. Decker was booked on counts tied to child sexual abuse material and alleged violations of the state’s computer‑crimes law, with formal charging decisions now in the hands of local prosecutors.
How the probe was organized
The ICAC Task Force operates as a nationwide network that links federal, state and local agencies to investigate online child exploitation and provide forensic and investigative backup to local special‑victims teams, as outlined by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. On the ground, local task‑force partners typically execute search warrants, seize electronic devices and conduct interviews, while state and federal counterparts help validate tips and dig through digital forensics.
Legal context
The Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act, found in Title 21 of state law, is a go‑to statute in cases that involve unlawful access to systems or the possession and distribution of illegal material through computers and networks, according to Oklahoma statutes and related state law listings. In cases involving child sexual abuse material, prosecutors often bring computer‑crime counts alongside exploitation charges as investigators track, preserve and present digital evidence.
What residents should know
Investigations into digital child exploitation can stretch out as detectives sort through seized devices, catalog files and verify what they are seeing, and authorities did not immediately share further details about the case involving Decker. Anyone with information that could help in this investigation is urged to contact the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office or report suspected online child exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org.
