Robert Harold Scott, Jr., Child Pornography Production, Virginia 2014

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man was sentenced to life in prison for enticing and conspiring with multiple women to produce child pornography, among other charges.

Robert Harold Scott, Jr., 27, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. Scott was convicted by a jury on multiple counts involving the production of child pornography and online enticement on July 14, 2014.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Scott used various personas on the Internet to meet women and try to convince them to work as prostitutes for parties at hotels. However, Scott would not pay them after the parties and sometimes would extort the women by threatening to publish sexually explicit videos.

Five different women complied and sent sexually explicit images of children in return for the promise of money. In two instances, Scott convinced the women to bring the children to the hotel parties. As a result of Scott’s actions, seven different children, ages 1 to 5 years old, were sexually abused.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance provided by Chesapeake and Virginia Beach Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth M. Yusi and Jay V. Prabhu prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

Scott’s sentencing is a result of his continued behavior despite being convicted of a similar scheme in May 2013 in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. The federal charges were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Scott will serve his life sentence without the possibility of parole. The case is a reminder of the importance of protecting children from exploitation and abuse.

Related Federal Cases