Oklahoma Man Accused of Trying to Sell Children on Net

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Police arrested a man accused of attempting to sell two children, ages 1 and 5, over the Internet for sex.

Jason Todd Burns, 25, told investigators he had a conversation in an Internet chat room and promised to procure the children for a New York man for $5,000, said Grady County Assistant District Attorney Lesley March.

"His admission was that he did engage in a chat room conversation and that the conversation dealt with Burns arranging for and quoting a price for the other individual to have sex with a 1- and a 5-year-old girl," March said.

March said it was unclear if Burns offered his own children for sale.

"That is still under investigation," March said. "We know that he has two children who reside in the Comanche County area. He also has a stepchild in Chickasha who would fall into this age range."

Several children were removed from Burns' Chickasha home, said OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown.

Burns was being held in the Grady County jail Monday and was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday, March said.

Prosecutors plan to file a charge of transmitting information by computer for purposes of instigating sexual contact with a minor, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, March said.

Authorities seized two computers from Burns' home which were being searched by investigators for additional information.

"We're filing one count, but it's early on in the investigation," March said. "There may be more counts forthcoming."

March said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children picked up on the possible transaction and alerted New York State Police.

The investigation expanded to include the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Chickasha Police Department, and Burns was arrested Saturday.