Man from Pocola receives 22 years in prison for sexual abuse of minors

POCOLA, Okla. (KNWA/KFTA) – A Pocola man was convicted Friday of sexually abusing a minor, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

Patrick Kelley, 46, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for sexual abuse in Indian Country.

In the summer of 2021, Kelley sexually abused a minor, the press release states.

The press release states that as part of his plea, Kelley admitted to “creating and distributing sexually explicit depictions of two minors between 2015 and 2021.”

On October 10, 2023, he pleaded guilty to the charges.

The charges arose from investigations by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the District 16 Drug and Violent Crime Task Force in Le Flore County.

“This verdict should serve as another clear warning to those who abuse children: We will use every tool available to identify, apprehend and prosecute you,” U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson said in the press release. “I am grateful to our partners at Homeland Security Investigations and the District 16 Drug and Violent Crime Task Force for their work in bringing this defendant to justice.”

Kelley remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals and awaits transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons detention facility to serve his sentence without parole, the press release said.