A U.S. District Court in Seattle has convicted a 47-year-old man from Deming, Washington, of federal offenses related to child sexual abuse imagery. Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller announced that Robert J. Howell Jr. was found guilty of receipt and possession of such images following a two-day jury trial.
The investigation into Howell Jr. began in late 2019, when a foreign police organization informed Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that an IP address linked to his residence accessed a website hosting child sexual abuse material. On April 1, 2025, after just an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict.
Court records and trial testimony indicated that after receiving the overseas alert, HSI agents investigated and identified Howell's home in Deming as the source IP. Federal agents executed a search warrant on September 15, 2020, seizing dozens of devices. A forensic review revealed over 90,000 files depicting child sexual abuse across 21 devices, many showcasing extreme violence against young children.
Prosecutors at the trial demonstrated that Howell Jr. received five specific files of such material and possessed many more during the period from 2016 to 2019. In total, law enforcement confiscated more than 75 items, including computers, tablets, and storage devices, which will be forfeited to the government.
The sentencing for Howell Jr. is set for July 15, 2025, with U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour presiding. He faces a minimum sentence of five years, with the possibility of up to 20 years in prison, dependent on the sentencing guidelines and statutory factors considered by Judge Coughenour.
The HSI led the investigation, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Hampton and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica M. Ly.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse. This program brings together resources from federal, state, and local authorities to combat online exploitation and rescue victims. More details can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
