Oklahoma City daycare worker and babysitter pleads guilty to producing child pornography

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — An Oklahoma City man pleaded guilty Monday to producing child pornography depicting a female toddler whom he babysat.

This guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Mark A. Yancey, Western District of Oklahoma.  This case resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the New Zealand Police Online Child Exploitation Across New Zealand team.

According to court records, in September 2015, undercover HSI special agents downloaded child pornography via Kik, a smartphone instant-messaging application, from a man in Christchurch, New Zealand.  Authorities in New Zealand located the man and forensic analysis of his Kik account revealed that he had exchanged child pornography with a Kik user with the screen name "TheLoverOfTheLittle."  HSI special agents in the United States traced this Kik screen name to Jason Marc Janatsch, 26, of Oklahoma City, who worked at an Oklahoma City daycare center. Janatsch also worked as a freelance babysitter who advertised his services on www.sitter.com.

Janatsch was indicted by a federal grand jury Jan. 6, 2016. During the Feb. 29 plea hearing before U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot, Janatsch admitted that on June 11, 2015, he used a female toddler whom he was babysitting to engage in sexually explicit conduct and took photographs with his iPhone. Then Janatsch, using his iPhone, transmitted the photographs to the New Zealand man. According to court records, he also received child pornography from the New Zealand man in return.

At sentencing, Janatsch faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison.  A sentencing hearing will be set by the court in about 90 days.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Hale, Western District of Oklahoma.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1 (866) DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial (802) 872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY (802) 872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.