A former IT professional from Mounds, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for possessing and attempting to receive child sexual abuse material. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Jonathan Tyler Gross, 37, received a sentence of 123 months in prison from U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby. After his release, Gross will be subject to 20 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution and a $10,000 fine.
According to court documents, Gross’s employer reported him to law enforcement after discovering child sexual abuse material on his work computer in 2025. The employer believed that Gross had accessed encrypted chat rooms while at work. Investigators found several images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children on devices provided by the employer.
Gross admitted that between November 2022 and April 2025 he viewed and possessed such material and expressed a sexual interest in minors aged 14 to 17. Some files located by agents depicted children as young as five being exploited. Law enforcement received a CyberTip indicating that Gross uploaded illegal content using one of his twelve personal email accounts. The material was sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Child Victim Identification Program, which helped identify at least one known victim. A victim impact statement was submitted during sentencing proceedings, with restitution directed toward the identified child victim.
Following Gross’s indictment in April 2025, a minor victim came forward stating she met Gross through church when she worked for his family as a housecleaner and babysitter at age 15. She reported that he began grooming her in January 2016 via late-night messages and contacted her under various aliases on Snapchat over several years. Agents determined that from January 2016 through January 2019, Gross created at least 22 alias Snapchat accounts used to communicate with the minor victim and persuade her to send sexually explicit photos.
Gross pleaded guilty in October while out on bond but was taken into custody following his plea hearing pending transfer to federal prison authorities. The $10,000 fine imposed will go toward the Crime Victims Fund supporting victims of federal crimes.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Robert.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice,” according to the press release from federal prosecutors. “Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.”
For further information about Project Safe Childhood: https://www.justice.gov/psc
