LOS ANGELES
A man who resided in Carpinteria, California, plead not guilty after being named in a federal grand jury indictment that charges him with distributing and possessing child pornography in 2015.
Christopher Robin Coates allegedly committed these crimes soon after completing a state prison term as a result of other child pornography offenses.
Coates, 41, was taken into federal custody Wednesday afternoon by federal authorities after the grand jury charged him on Tuesday.
Coates was turned over by local authorities in Santa Barbara County, where an extensive investigation occurred resulting in him being charged there.
District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley with multiple child exploitation crimes. The District Attorney’s Office dismissed the state charges after the federal indictment was filed – an indictment that brings the possibility of a life sentence for Coates.
Coates was arraigned Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
Coates is specifically charged with two counts of producing child pornography by using Kik Messenger to entice two minor boys to engage in sexually explicit conduct last year. Coates also is charged with two counts of receiving child pornography, according to the allegations.
The indictment further charges Coates with three counts of using Kik Messenger to distribute child pornography (one count involves one of the victims allegedly enticed by Coates to send images), and one count of possessing child pornography involving a victim under the age of 12.
The indictment alleges that Coates was convicted in Santa Barbara Superior Court in 2011 and in 2013 of possessing child pornography, as well as sexual battery of a disabled adult in 2010.
Count nine of the indictment charges Coates with producing child pornography while being required to register as a sex offender as a result of his prior convictions.
“This defendant, if he is convicted, faces a lengthy period of incarceration in federal prison – which would be warranted by his history of crimes against children,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “As this case unfortunately illustrates, child pornography is not a victimless crime; on the contrary, it victimizes the most vulnerable among us.”
On July 15, 2015, law enforcement officers conducted a parole search of Coates’ residence.
During the search, authorities recovered a Samsung tablet under a mattress that contained hundreds of images and videos of child pornography.
“Protecting children from crimes of sexual abuse and exploitation is a priority for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service,” stated Robert Wemyss, Inspector in Charge for the Los Angeles Division.
If he is convicted in this case, Coates faces a potential sentence of life without parole in federal prison.
The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.