YAKIMA, Wash.-A Toppenish man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to the receipt and distribution of child pornography.
Robert Ray Root, 54, must also serve 10 years of supervised release after his prison term and will pay $21,000 in restitution to 7 victims.
“Mr. Root spent decades victimizing the most vulnerable among us,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref. “Protecting children from harm remains a priority of my office and is critical to building a safe and strong Eastern Washington community.”
According to court documents Root has been downloading and sharing child sex abuse materials for the past 30 years. In January 2022, agents executed a search warrant at Root’s home and seized several electronic devices, including a computer with thousands of child pornography images and more than 100 videos.
Root admitted a decades long interest in and trading of child pornography according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington’s Office.
Root also reportedly admitted to investigators that he had sexually abused a young girl several years earlier.
