Sitka Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Robert Edgar Farquer, 69, of Sitka, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess, to serve eight years in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release, for possession of child pornography.   

According to court documents, Farquer became the subject of a federal investigation when, in May 2016, FBI agents obtained 46 files containing images of child pornography from an IP address, and again in June 2016, when an additional 169 images were downloaded from another IP address.  The investigation revealed that the IP addresses were associated with Farquer at his residence in Sitka. 

On July 12, 2016, a search warrant was executed at Farquer’s residence, where agents discovered a collection of child pornography materials that spanned decades stored throughout his apartment and filled the back of a small pickup truck.  During an interview, Farquer admitted to downloading child pornography files online, and that he had received child pornography materials as early as 1988 via the mail.  The agents seized hundreds of pieces of electronic media and discovered thousands of images of child pornography in other various media. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.