An Oregon photographer will spend decades behind bars after prosecutors said he used promises of modeling careers to lure teenage girls into a horrifying pattern of drugging, sexual assault and secret recording.
Robert Koester, 59, of Carlton, was sentenced Tuesday, Aug. 4, to 40 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
He pleaded guilty in March to eight counts of producing child sexual abuse material.
“Koester’s crimes against children are among the worst this district has seen,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott E. Bradford said in a statement.
“His violent abuse of these girls created scars they will carry their entire lives, and the images of that abuse will haunt them.”
Federal prosecutors said Koester used his status as a professional photographer to gain the trust of teenage girls who hoped to break into the modeling industry.
Through his agency, he allegedly promised the girls career opportunities and persuaded them to travel to photo-shoot locations across Oregon and California.
Once there, authorities said Koester supplied victims with alcohol and drugs, including cannabis and cocaine.
He then pressured the teenagers into nude photo sessions, allegedly showing them images of other naked models to convince them that the shoots were a normal part of launching a modeling career.
Some of the victims were just 15 years old.
Koester photographed the girls in revealing poses and used hidden cameras to secretly capture even more explicit images without their knowledge, prosecutors said.
Authorities said he also drugged some of the victims with intoxicants, including GHB, before sexually and physically abusing them while they were unconscious.
The violence sometimes included strangling and slapping, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Koester recorded the assaults.
Prosecutors said he also coerced some victims into performing sexual acts with him while they were awake.
Investigators later uncovered a massive collection of child sexual abuse material produced by Koester, including thousands of images.
Authorities said he sold some of the material to other people.
Several victims also reported that Koester showed them images of their own abuse while laughing.
Koester was first arrested in California in November 2018.
In July 2019, he was charged with six counts of producing child sexual abuse material. Two additional charges were filed in August 2020.
He has also faced related prosecutions in San Diego and Oregon’s Yamhill County.
Koester received separate prison sentences of 25 years in San Diego and 50 years in Yamhill County. Those terms will run concurrently with the 40-year federal sentence imposed Tuesday.
“Koester used his role as a photographer to gain the trust of young people who were simply looking for a chance to pursue their dreams, and he exploited that trust,” FBI Portland Special Agent in Charge Doug Olson said.
“The courage these victims showed in coming forward made this outcome possible, and we stand with them as they continue to heal.”
Oh nice, an Oregon liberal, they are the worst.