Deming, Washington man convicted at trial of receipt and possession of images of child sexual abuse

Seattle – A 47-year-old resident of Deming, Whatcom County, Washington was convicted last week in U.S. District Court in Seattle of two federal felonies related to his receipt and possession of images of child sexual abuse, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Robert J. Howell Jr. came to the attention of law enforcement in late 2019 when a foreign country police organization alerted Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that an Ip address associated with Howell Jr’s residence had accessed a website devoted to images of child sexual abuse. Following a two-day jury trial, jurors deliberated about an hour before finding Howell Jr. guilty on April 1, 2025.  U.S District Judge John C. Coughenour scheduled sentencing for July 15, 2025.

According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, after getting the tip from a foreign law enforcement organization, HSI agents sought information on the account associated with the IP address. The IP address was linked to Howell’s home in Deming. On September 15, 2020, federal agents executed a search warrant and seized several dozen electronic devices. A forensic review determined there were more than 90,000 files depicting child sexual abuse on some 21 electronic devices. Many of the images were of the sexual abuse of very young children and included depictions involving extreme violence.

At trial prosecutors specifically proved that between 2016 and 2019, Howell Jr. received five specific files of child sexual abuse material and knowingly possessed many more.

In all more than 75 electronic assets including computers, phones, tablets, hard drives, storage devices, gaming devices, and CDs were seized by law enforcement and have been forfeited to the government.

Howell Jr. faces a mandatory 5 years in prison and up to twenty years in prison when sentenced by Judge Coughenour. The actual sentence will be determined by Judge Coughenour after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Hampton and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica M. Ly.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.