Hugo Resident Sentenced For Possessing Unregistered Firearms And Child Sexual Exploitation Material

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Chayse Anthony Beard, age 24, of Hugo, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for one count of Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, and 57 months in prison for one count of Possession of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. The court ordered the terms to be served concurrently.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Durant Police Department.

On March 20, 2025, Beard pleaded guilty to the charges. According to investigators, on July 17, 2024, law enforcement discovered Beard in possession of two short-barreled firearms, neither of which were registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Beard also possessed over 400 visual depictions of prepubescent minors and minors under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his cell phone.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Beard will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josh Satter and Emily Wittlinger represented the United States.