4/24/2024
Deschutes County, OR. – Official Release: In January of 2024, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of an IP address that was actively distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material through Peer to Peer (P2P) networks in Deschutes County. The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) in Medford, Oregon was able to connect directly to a computer that was actively distributing this material and shared this information with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit.
ICAC detectives initiated an investigation and obtained a large amount of evidence over the last several months. Detectives also determined that the IP address that was distributing this Child Sexual Abuse Material was operated by Cody O’Neal of La Pine.
On April 24th, 2024, detectives with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office ICAC unit, as well as detectives with the Street Crimes unit, Digital Forensics unit, Oregon State Police ICAC detectives, and Bend Police Department Digital Forensics unit served a search warrant at O’Neal’s residence. Several digital devices were seized from the residence.
O’Neal was arrested and transported to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Adult Jail, where he was lodged on the aforementioned charges.
Further search warrants will be sought for the analysis of the seized digital devices, which may result in future charges being filed.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is a full-service agency that oversees the adult jail, provides patrol, criminal investigations, civil process and search and rescue operations. Special units include SWAT, Street Crimes, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol, Forest Patrol, along with six K9 teams. Founded in 1916 and today led by your duly elected Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office serves over 200,000 residents in Deschutes County. The agency has 263 authorized and funded personnel, which includes 178 sworn employees who provide services to the 3,055 square miles of Deschutes County.
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