Joint Task Force Arrests Phoenix Man for Sexually Exploiting Several Children Through Social Media, Detectives Believe He May Have Other Victims

Jackson Co. Sheriff's Office

PHOENIX, Ore. – A Phoenix man is now lodged in the Jackson County Jail on child cyber-sex crime charges. The Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET) joint inter-agency task force arrested the man yesterday morning and served a search warrant at his apartment in the 600 block of North Main Street in Phoenix. SOCET began an investigation after receiving a report from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office of a child being sexually exploited through the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

The suspect, Joshua Ray Pool, 40, of Phoenix, is charged with using a child in display of sexually explicit content and first-degree encouraging child sex abuse. During the warrant, investigators seized digital devices which will be forensically examined by Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force (SOHTCTF) for further evidence of child exploitation.

Investigators believe Pool may have been communicating with other child victims from throughout the United States. If you have any information on the suspect, contact investigators through the Sheriff’s App “Submit a Tip” feature. Download the App here: https://apps.myocv.com/share/a72997501. You can also call the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) Tip Line at (541) 774-8333 and reference case number 23-1667.

JCSO deputies, Federal Bureau of Investigation, SOHTCTF, Medford Police Department, Phoenix Police Department, and Jackson County District Attorney’s Office assisted with the warrant service. Detectives are interviewing possible witnesses and involved parties, and investigations are ongoing.

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 JCSO and Homeland Security Investigations; as well as prosecutors from our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in Jackson and Josephine County.