Overview
- A federal judge in Oregon sentenced Robert Koester to 40 years in prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to eight counts of producing child sexual abuse material tied to victims in Oregon and California.
- Koester faces multiple overlapping punishments: a 25-year San Diego state sentence imposed in 2019 and a 50-year Oregon state sentence that will run concurrently with his federal term.
- Investigators say searches of his Carlsbad apartment and his Carlton, Oregon studio recovered videos and images of assaults, including footage showing victims who appeared unconscious.
- Prosecutors allege Koester recruited teenage girls as young as 15 through a front called Frank Model Management, paid travel for some victims and supplied drugs and alcohol that were used to coerce and incapacitate them.
- As part of plea agreements he forfeited his Oregon home and photography equipment, the home was later sold for about $750,000, and the case highlights coordinated state and federal use of CSAM charges and asset forfeiture to hold offenders across jurisdictions.