Full Notification

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LeFLORE COUNTY, Okla. (December 19, 2022) – The suspect in an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigation is sentenced to prison. Stephen Newman (12/5/1986) was arrested in November 2020 on one charge of Procuring Obscene Material which is a felony. Two years later, on November 22, 2022, Newman appeared in LeFlore County District Court and entered a plea of guilty.
 
The court sentenced Newman to 20 years in prison with all but the first ten years suspended. Additionally, Newman is required to requester as a sex offender.
 
**Previous press releases are below.
 

 
UPDATE: LeFLORE COUNTY MAN WITH OUTSTANDING ARREST WARRANT IN CUSTODY
 
MCALESTER, Oklahoma (February 17, 2022) - A Poteau man wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant is in custody. Stephen Michael Newman, who is facing one count of Procuring Obscene Material, was arrested by the McAlester Police Department without incident. Officers transported Newman to the Pittsburg County jail. The OSBI received a tip and Newman was in custody three hours after an appeal to the public for assistance in locating him.
   
OSBI ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE LOCATING SUSPECT IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY INVESTIGATION
 
POTEAU, Oklahoma (February 17, 2022) – Agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force are asking for the public’s assistance in locating 35-year-old Stephen Michael Newman. Newman has a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear for court multiple times.
 
Newman was arrested in November 2020 for one count of Procuring Obscene Material, which is a felony. The OSBI ICAC Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that Newman was having online chats with a minor child in Idaho. Idaho law enforcement secured a search warrant and determined the IP address associated with the tip was from an address in Poteau. During the investigation, agents discovered that Newman had been requesting sexually explicit photos and videos from the girl in Idaho.
 
A search warrant was secured for Newman’s electronic devices. On those devices, agents found more than 50 items of evidence including photographs and videos of child pornography and child sexual abuse.
After his arrest in November 2020, Newman bonded out of jail and has not returned to court for any appearances.
 
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Newman, please contact the OSBI at (800) 522-8017 or email [email protected]. You can remain anonymous.
   
ARREST MADE IN OSBI ICAC UNIT investigation
 
McALESTER, Okla. (November 30, 2020) – After receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMECC), Agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit secured an arrest warrant for 33-year-old Stephen Newman. Newman was arrested by the McAlester Police Department on November 20, 2020 on one charge of Procuring Obscene Material, which is a felony.  
 
The case originated when the OSBI received a cyber tip from NCMEC that originated with the Idaho ICAC Task Force and involved online chats between Newman and an underage female in Idaho. Law enforcement in Idaho secured a search warrant for the email account associated with the cybertip. The IP address checked back to a residence in the 700 block of S. Saddler in Poteau, Okla. Newman was a listed as a resident of that address.
 
During the course of the OSBI investigation, a search warrant was secured for all electronic devices in the home. Based on the evidence obtained and analyzed by agents, an arrest warrant was issued for Newman on November 10, 2020, who was believed to be in the McAlester area. Officers with the McAlester Police Department arrested Newman at a residence in the 500 block of E. Polk in McAlester. He was taken to the Pittsburg County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
 
The OSBI investigation is ongoing. If you have a child that you believe had an inappropriate experience with Newman, contact the OSBI at (800) 522-8017 or [email protected].
 
If you suspect a child is being sexually exploited, contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children immediately at 1-800-THE-LOST or www.cybertipline.com.