The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) joint inter-agency task force alongside the Grants Pass Police Department served a search warrant on Wednesday morning, December 15, 2021, at a residence in the 800 block of NE D Street in Grants Pass.
Investigators discovered numerous images of child pornography had been uploaded at the residence. Investigators conducted interviews and ultimately arrested Dalton Bateman, a 22-year-old male, for the following offenses: Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse 1st Degree (6 counts) and Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse 2nd Degree (6 counts).
Bateman was lodged at the Josephine County Jail.
Tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) initiated the investigation, which led to subpoenas and ultimately a search warrant at the residence. Digital devices were seized that will be forensically examined by the Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force for evidence of child exploitation.
SOCET is a joint inter-agency task force that started in June of 2020 to combat child exploitation and human trafficking.
The task force consists of investigators from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, Medford Police Department, Grants Pass Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations as well as prosecutors from local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in Jackson and Josephine Counties.
If you have any information about this ongoing investigation, please call Detective Heather Yerrick at 541-450-6260 (GPPD Case #21-48259).
