06.21.2011 - OKLAHOMA CITY, OK—MICHAEL JAMES OPIE, 36, of Norman, Oklahoma, was sentenced by United States District Judge David L. Russell to serve 240 months in federal prison for downloading child pornography, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

According to court records, Opie downloaded a video depicting the rape of a twelve-year-old boy. He pled guilty on September 30, 2010. After serving his federal prison sentence, Opie will be on supervised release for the rest of his life, and he will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, the flagship program in the Department of Justice’s National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, and was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Norman Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Hale.