An Aubrey, Texas man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for child exploitation offenses. Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced that John Prentice Robertson, 65, pleaded guilty to producing child pornography and received a 360-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on October 21, 2025.
Court documents revealed that between May 2022 and April 2024, Robertson communicated with adult women in the Philippines using an internet-based social media application. He paid these women to create images and videos of children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit acts, including oral sex, masturbation, and graphic displays of their genitals. The material was sent to Robertson through the social media platform or live-streamed transmissions. Additionally, Robertson admitted to transferring over $8,000 to individuals in the Philippines from 2015 to 2021 using a single money remitting service.
"This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse," according to the press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. "Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims." More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
The investigation involved both the FBI and Philippine National Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller and Trial Attorney Rachel Rothberg from the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section prosecuted the case.
