FRESNO -  Austen Peppers, 34, of Lawton, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty today to one count each of advertising and distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, law enforcement investigators identified Peppers as someone who sold and offered to sell images of minors being sexually abused. Peppers conducted transactions on the dark web using platforms and applications that he believed were secure and protected him from law enforcement scrutiny.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations offices in Fresno, Chicago, and Oklahoma and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with assistance from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Tactical Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecutes the case with Trial Attorney James Burke IV of the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

Peppers has been in custody since his initial appearance in this case on Nov. 14, 2019. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2023, by U.S. District Judge Ana de Alba. Peppers faces potential punishments for each of the two counts including a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, a lifetime term of supervised release, forfeiture of property, and possible restitution to victims. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account several variables.