TULSA, Okla. – A Tulsa couple was sentenced for admitting to coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct while they recorded it, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel sentenced Ryan Leon French, 47, and Lexie Renne French, 44. Ryan was sentenced for Production of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography and ordered to serve 365 months’ imprisonment. Lexie was also sentenced for Production of Child Pornography and was ordered to serve 240 months’ imprisonment. Upon their release, Ryan and Lexie will be required to register as sex offenders and will be supervised for life. They were separately ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.
In March 2025, the FBI was contacted by the Muscogee Creek Nation Lighthorse Police Department and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) regarding a police report filed by Lexie French. She reported that her husband, Ryan French, was attempting to blackmail her. Lexie initially reported that Ryan forced her to use cocaine and perform “sexual acts” on minor children. When law enforcement and OKDHS began investigating the claims, Lexie began changing her story.
Two days later, law enforcement found Lexie and Ryan. Court documents show that Lexie and Ryan both admitted to persuading and coercing a minor child to engage in sexually explicit conduct and recording it. Ryan told law enforcement that he could view and save sexual acts that he told Lexie to perform through a home security system.
They will both remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
The FBI and the Muscogee Creek Nation Lighthorse Police Department investigated the case with the assistance of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Brandon and Melody Nelson prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, local, and tribal resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
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