Kenneth Joseph Coombs, 58, of Collinsville, pleaded guilty in federal court on July 17 to engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in Nepal.
According to court documents, Coombs traveled from the United States to Nepal in August 2016 and sexually abused eight different children while staying at a hotel between August and September of that year. Authorities said he used force, involuntary intoxication, and payments to the children to commit sex acts. Coombs also took photos of some of the children engaged in sexually explicit conduct that he directed. Law enforcement recovered those photos from his electronic devices. At the time of these offenses, Coombs was required to register as a sex offender due to a prior conviction for a qualifying sex offense in Missouri. He was arrested by U.S. law enforcement upon his return from Nepal in September 2025 and has been held in custody since then.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft of the Southern District of Illinois, and Special Agent in Charge Ryan Presley of the FBI Springfield Field Office made the announcement.
“Our prosecutors and agents literally traveled across the globe to find witnesses and hunt down this child predator because no one who harms children can escape American justice,” said United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.
FBI Springfield investigated the case with substantial assistance from several agencies including the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal, U.S. Embassy Nepal, FBI LEGAT Qatar, FBI LEGAT India, FBI Chicago, Collinsville Police Department, Customs and Border Protection O’Hare International Airport, Kathmandu District Attorney’s Office, and Nepali NGO Naya Paila.
“Coombs’ conduct was predatory, deliberate, and devastating, and today’s guilty plea brings long‑overdue accountability for the children he harmed. Cases like this demand an unflinching response… When a child is targeted…the FBI will push every boundary…to ensure the offender is brought before the justice system,” said Ryan Presley.
Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of CEOS and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly S. Arshi are prosecuting; sentencing is scheduled for October 28 at 1:30 PM at East St. Louis Courthouse.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation.