The son of the man accused of plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at one of his golf courses has been arrested in connection with a child sex abuse images case.
Oran Alexander Routh was charged in federal court in North Carolina on Monday with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court records show he was arrested Tuesday, and no attorney for him is listed.
Public records show that Oran Routh is the son of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man authorities believed planned to kill Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. A senior U.S. law enforcement official also confirmed the father-son connection to NBC News after the younger Routh was arrested.
Ryan Routh was charged Tuesday with attempting to kill Trump, the Justice Department announced. He is also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and assaulting a Secret Service agent, according to federal prosecutors.
Ryan Routh is in custody pending trial and faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted.
The criminal complaint says Oran Routh’s North Carolina home was searched in connection with an unrelated case. It’s unclear whether that case was the investigation into his father.
According to the complaint, the FBI searched Oran Routh’s home in North Carolina on Saturday. A review of a memory card in a Samsung phone found in his bedroom uncovered “hundreds” of files containing child sex abuse images, it alleges.
Files included videos from a “known” series that includes videos of a man with a “prepubescent” girl under age 10, the complaint says.
A second Samsung phone that was found in Oran Routh’s possession, according to the complaint, included a downloaded folder with additional video files. Investigators reported that they observed a video of a woman with a girl age 6 to 8.
The complaint also says investigators found a messaging app on the phone that is “commonly used by individuals who distribute and receive child pornography.” The person who sent messages from the phone asked for a preview of digital content being sold, according to the complaint.
Two files were then sent, both including adults engaging in sexual acts with minors, the complaint says.
A warrant for his arrest was filed in federal court Monday.
Routh was also charged with drug possession on the day federal agents took his devices and later found child pornography, according to North Carolina court records. Law enforcement officers seized cocaine, MDMA and ketamine, as well as gold and black trays with a white powdery substance, at his residence, prompting two felony and two misdemeanor charges on suspicion of possession, according to the records.
The case is one of at least 39 criminal cases filed against Oran Routh over about 17 years in North Carolina, mostly in Guilford County, which includes the city of Greensboro. Previously, he was charged with several traffic violations, possession of narcotics and an assault of a female.
The disposition of each case was not immediately clear. In 2018, he plead guilty to assault of a female and was sentenced to 18 months’ probation.
Court records show that Oran Routh is in federal custody. As of Tuesday morning, a preliminary hearing had not been scheduled, and he had not entered a plea.
Nicole Duarte contributed.
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