Cherokee man faces 12 felony charges in two counties
May 5, 2021
A Cherokee man is facing seven felony counts in Alfalfa County involving possession of child pornography. An additional five felony counts were filed against him on the same day in Woods County, including distribution of child porn and procuring a child for prostitution.
On Monday, April 26, Trenton R. Soules aka Argo, 29, of Cherokee, was charged with six counts of possession of child pornography and one count for violation of Oklahoma statute via computer, all felonies.
The possession charges are each punishable by imprisonment up to 20 years or a fine up to $25,000, or both, and post imprisonment supervision as well as minimum sentence provisions. The sixth charge is punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years, or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or both such imprisonment and fine.
Woods County has issued an arrest warrant for Soules. Felony charges in Woods County include distribution of child pornography, two counts of attempting to procure child for prostitution, and two counts of violation of Oklahoma statute via computer.
According to Alfalfa County court records, on April 12 District Attorney’s Investigator Steve Tanio was contacted by Cherokee Police Chief Ryan McNeil about Soules having digital communications with a Cherokee resident on Facebook Messenger stating he was “attracted to young girls and boys.” Soules indicated he wanted to find some young individuals to “do it with.” He stated he wanted someone between 11-15 years of age or maybe younger, because he wanted to know what it was like, according to the court affidavit.
On April 23, Woods County Deputy Sheriff Kaleb Keplinger told Tanio he received a similar report from an adult female who reported being contacted by Soules on Facebook Messenger. Keplinger received authorization and consent to begin communicating with Soules on the individual’s Facebook account. On April 24, Keplinger told Tanio that Soules sent additional images of underage females engaged in sexual activity. The images were forwarded to Tanio who reviewed them and determined them to be child exploitation images.
On April 26, Tanio and law enforcement from Alfalfa and Woods County executed a search warrant at Soules’ residence. At that time, Soules and an adult female, Amber Krueger, were the only individuals inside. During the search, numerous electronic storage devices were located including a cellular telephone. The cellphone was located in a closet hidden crawl space in a bedroom occupied by Soules.
Deputy Keplinger was able to identify the phone as the same device used to contact his undercover Facebook account. Keplinger said the phone had five still images and one video clip which depicted child pornography images.
On April 26 during a post-Miranda videotaped interview, Krueger told Tanio she had known Soules for the past eight years and lived with Soules for the past two months. She said Soules told her he had sexual fantasies of having sex with underage girls and had purchased “school girl” outfits to wear during sexual activities, according to the affidavit.
Soules was arrested and was being held in Alfalfa County on a $500,000 bond. His next court
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