EUGENE, Ore. — A Coos Bay, Oregon, man was sentenced Wednesday to federal prison for taking sexually explicit images of a minor, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Oregon said Wednesday.

Willard Verdell Cowan, 61, was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

According to court documents, beginning in early 2021, Cowan volunteered to speak with a minor who often suffered from panic attacks. Instead, he preyed on the victim’s vulnerability by providing alcohol and marijuana before sexually assaulting the victim. Cowan continued to sexually abuse the victim, sometimes recording the abuse and requesting sexually explicit images from the minor, until he was arrested in March 2023.

On February 16, 2023, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a two-count indictment charging Cowan with sexual exploitation of a child and distribution of child pornography.

On August 21, 2024, Cowan pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a child.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Coos County Sheriff’s Office. He was prosecuted by Oregon Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey S. Sweet in coordination with the Coos County District Attorney’s Office.

More information from the US Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon:

Anyone with information about physical or online child exploitation is encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

The FBI CETF conducts sexual exploitation investigations, many of them undercover, in coordination with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The CETF is committed to locating and arresting those who prey on children, as well as recovering and assisting victims of child sex trafficking and exploitation.

Federal law defines child pornography as any visual representation of explicit sexual behavior involving a minor. It is important to remember that child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document the exploitation and abuse of victims, but when shared on the Internet, they re-victimize and re-traumatize child victims every time their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.