MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Justin Floyd Qualls, a/k/a Jay Qualls, age 40, of Muldrow, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 360 months in prison for one count of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country.

The charge arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On August 7, 2025, Qualls was found guilty of the charge by a federal jury at trial.

At trial, the United States presented evidence that in May of 2024, Qualls knowingly engaged in a sexual act with a child who had not attained 12 years of age.

The crime occurred in Adair County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation of Oklahoma, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

“This individual, who preyed on the innocence of a child for his own perverse gratification, will now face the consequences of his actions,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater. “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Qualls will spend three decades behind bars where he cannot harm another child.”

“I commend the FBI and prosecutors for their exceptional work in bringing the defendant to justice,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson.  “Both the verdict handed down by the jury and the sentence imposed by the court should send the strong message that preying on children will not be tolerated.”

The Honorable Timothy M. Reif, Judge for the United States Court of International Trade, sitting by assignment in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.  Qualls 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 Jessie K. Pippin and Emily Wittlinger represented the United States.