Former Washington man receives 27-year federal prison term for molesting sleeping children

SEATTLE – A former Des Moines, Washington, man was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Robert D. Thorson, 58, was arrested May 30, 2016, after his girlfriend contacted the Des Moines police to alert them about sexually explicit images of minors found on Thorson’s phone. Thorson was convicted in February following a three-day trial, which included testimony about images found on his phone, computer, thumb drives, and DVDs.

“This is one of the most egregious cases this court has handled…,” said Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez. “Mr. Thorson repaid the kindness shown to him [by two families] by sexually abusing and exploiting the children.”

According to court records and testimony, Thorson’s girlfriend was examining his phone for evidence of cheating when instead she found images of him molesting young girls residing in her home. During HSI Seattle’s investigation, special agents uncovered images on Thorson’s electronic devices showing him disturbing the clothing and bedding of sleeping children so he could obtain sexually explicit photos. Thorson’s clothing, tattoos and body parts appear in some of the images. 

HSI agents also discovered images from a hidden camera installed in a bathroom at the former girlfriend’s residence depicting children using the bathroom and shower. The electronic evidence presented at trial revealed Thorson preyed on a second family when he briefly stayed in their home in 2015.

In addition to the images of child molestation that he produced, Thorson also had images of other children being raped and molested that he collected from the internet. His electronic devices had 22 videos and 40 images of children being raped by adults to include a two-hour video showing the rape of a 4-year-old by an adult male.

While Thorson was in custody he threatened his former girlfriend via letters demanding she change her statements to the police.

The case was investigated in coordination with the Des Moines Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hobbs and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecelia Gregson. As a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Ms. Gregson is specially designated to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.

“This defendant sought relationships with women so that he could molest their children,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “He insinuated himself into the lives of the families he preyed on and when his crimes were discovered, he threatened them from prison to try to get the charges against him dropped. There is no question that the public – and especially our kids – are safer as a result of the lengthy sentence imposed in his case.”

The charges in this case are a product of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, and HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators.

Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.