Nicholas J. Ganjei United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas
A resident of Alvin, Texas, has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for the distribution and possession of child sexual assault material. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced the sentencing of Robert Earl Cochran Jr., who pleaded guilty on December 17, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown handed down a sentence of 300 months, with restitution to be determined later. After serving his prison term, Cochran will face ten years of supervised release with restrictions on internet access and contact with children. He is also required to register as a sex offender.
“The lengthy sentence imposed today is welcome news,” said Ganjei. “The defendant has repeatedly demonstrated that, given the opportunity, he will unrepentantly victimize young children.”
Chad Plantz, Special Agent in Charge at ICE-HSI Houston, commented on the case: “With today’s sentence we have removed an extremely dangerous child predator from the community who was an immediate threat to every child he encountered.”
Investigations revealed that Cochran used multiple virtual identities to distribute and possess CSAM between February 24, 2015, and July 16, 2019. Law enforcement found nine images and 54 obscene representations of children depicting pornography on his devices at the time of his arrest.
Cochran admitted to viewing child pornography since 2015 after being released from prison for aggravated sexual assault of a three-year-old child. He heavily traded such materials between 2015-2016 using three cellphones.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis Batarse prosecuting under Project Safe Childhood (PSC). PSC is a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
For more information about PSC or internet safety education resources, visit DOJ's PSC page.
