Warm Springs Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for the Repeated Sexual Abuse of a Child

PORTLAND, Ore.—Robert Glenn Warner, 36, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, was sentenced today to 300 months in federal prison and 10 years’ supervised release for the repeated sexual abuse and rape of an 11-year-old child.

“This young victim demonstrated tremendous courage in reporting Warner’s repeated abuse and fully participating in the judicial process. Her brave actions put in motion our ability to stop this heinous crime and prosecute the defendant. The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains fiercely committed to holding child predators accountable and safeguarding the rights and dignity of victims,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

“Warner used his position of power to perpetrate multiple, violent sexual assaults on a victim who was vulnerable and accessible. We are thankful to the victim, who has shown great strength, and to our partners at the Warm Springs Tribal Police who help end the abuse of this child,” said Renn Cannon, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon.

According to court documents, in July 2016, the victim, a minor member of the Warm Springs Tribe, told a friend’s mother that they had been repeatedly sexually abused and raped by Warner, a person known to the victim. Most recently, Warner raped the victim in a trailer parked in a wood cutting lot on the outskirts of the Warm Springs Reservation. The victim reported the abuse to the Warm Springs Tribal Police Department and Warner was arrested the same day.

On July 16, 2018, Warner pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact with a minor before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.

This case was investigated by the Warm Springs Tribal Police Department and the FBI. It was prosecuted by Natalie Wight, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

On March 3, 1994, the FBI initiated “Operation Safe Trails” with the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement in Flagstaff, Arizona. The operation, which would later evolve into the Safe Trails Task Force (STTF) Program, unites FBI and other federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies in a collaborative effort to combat the growth of crime in Indian Country. STTFs allow participating agencies to combine limited resources and increase investigative coordination in Indian Country to target violent crime, drugs, gangs, and gaming violations.