Oklahoma City daycare worker and babysitter sentenced to 30 years for producing child pornography with an 18-month-old

OKLAHOMA CITY — A man from Oklahoma City was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in federal prison for producing child pornography which depicted an 18-month-old toddler whom he babysat.

This sentence was announced by 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. After New Zealand authorities located the man, 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 a local daycare center. Janatsch also freelanced as a babysitter who advertised his services on www.sitter.com and www.care.com.

Janatsch was indicted by a federal grand jury Jan. 6, 2016. He had a plea hearing Feb. 29 before U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot. At this hearing 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.

Janatsch had used an online babysitting service to gain access to the child. 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. In sentencing, Judge Friot took into consideration evidence that Janatsch had also molested a 3-year-old girl on a previous occasion and had performed Google searches using queries such as “having sex with a special needs child,” and “how do I adopt a baby.”

After serving his sentence, Janatsch will be required to register as a sex offender and will be on supervised release for life. The court also ordered Janatsch to pay a $5,000 special assessment under the Justice For Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Hale, Western District of Oklahoma, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator.

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.