Tahlequah Resident Sentenced To 30 Years For Child Sex Abuse And Exploitation

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Gregory Neil Bias, age 41, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for nine separate counts of child sex abuse crimes, eight separate counts of child sexual exploitation crimes, and one federal firearm crime.

Bias was sentenced to 360 months on nine counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in Indian County, 360 months on two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child, and 360 months on two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child by a Parent. Bias was also sentenced to 240 months for one count of Possession of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 240 months in prison for one count of Receipt of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 240 months in prison for one count of Distribution of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 240 months in prison for one count of Possession of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, and 120 months in prison for illegal possession of a firearm. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

On January 18, 2023, Gregory Neil Bias pleaded guilty to 18 counts of the Indictment.

On March 21, 2024, Bias's co-defendant, Leiloni Blake Smith, age 30, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of eight counts of aggravated child sexual abuse, two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child, two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child by a Parent, and one count of Possession of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. Smith awaits sentencing in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to investigators, in 2020 the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alerted law enforcement to a Tahlequah-area internet user exchanging electronic files containing images of child sexual abuse. Agents identified, located, and arrested Bias in January of 2022 for distributing child sexual abuse materials. At the time of arrest, Bias resided with Leiloni Blake Smith. During the investigation, searches of electronic devices belonging to Bias and Smith uncovered multiple depictions of sexual abuse perpetrated by Bias and Smith on two children. Agents also located a firearm in the home which Bias could not legally possess because he had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment. Bias was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2022 of aggravated sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a child, distributing, receiving, and possessing sexual abuse materials, and felon in possession of a firearm.

The crimes occurred in Cherokee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

"Gregory Neil Bias committed heinous crimes against innocent and vulnerable children, and his sentence marks a significant step in bringing a measure of justice for his victims, and making our communities safer," said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. "This case was the product of the great collaborative work done by federal prosecutors and OSBI, HSI, and FBI agents to ensure that child predators have no place to hide."

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Bias will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant United States Attorney Edith A. Singer represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources".

We encourage anyone who suspects or has information regarding child sexual exploitation, trafficking of minors, sextortion, child pornography, or any other means of child exploitation to immediately contact law enforcement. You can file a report on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)'s website at www.cybertipline.com, call 1-800-843-5678, contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or call 877-4-HSI TIP.