A 46-year-old Spokane man was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in federal prison after admitting to soliciting sex and pornographic material from the 15-year-old daughter of a family friend.
Bobby C. Owens pleaded guilty in August to a single count of attempted child sex trafficking. Authorities received a tip in May 2019 that Owens had been communicating on Facebook with the teenager discussing payment for sexual acts and images and videos. The teenager, when interviewed by authorities, told them she'd met twice with Owens and that they'd engaged in sexual touching, after which Owens paid her, according to court records.
The 12-year sentence was agreed to by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Eastern Washington and Owens's defense. A search of his social media activity yielded no other instances of solicitation of sex from minors, according to court records.
"Children must be safe from sexual predators, whether they are online or in person," said U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington Vanessa Waldref, in a statement. "FBI and the Spokane Police Department, along with victim specialists and forensic examiners all took care to put the minor's needs at the forefront of their investigation."
Owens' defense team said he'd been using methamphetamine at the time of the solicitation and that he'd sought drug treatment while in custody at the Spokane County Jail. He'll now be moved to federal Bureau of Prisons custody, and when released will be under supervision for the rest of his life, ruled U.S. District Court Senior Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson.
Owens was listed in custody of the Spokane County Jail on Thursday afternoon.
