A former Veterans Affairs police officer has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for repeatedly aiming hidden cameras at a shower and bedrooms in a home to capture sexually explicit photos and videos of children.
Robert Wayne Roady, 50, of Roseburg, Oregon, admitted to hiding the cameras after he was confronted by Douglas County sheriff’s investigators who were tipped off in October 2020, according to federal prosecutors.
Roady pleaded guilty to one count of attempted transportation of child pornography.
“Well-aware of his conduct, how wrong it was, and the harm it would surely cause, he continued — driven by his obsession,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam E. Delph and Jeffrey Sweet said in their sentencing memo. “His actions caused great harm and he poses an ongoing risk to minors. The damage to the victims is impossible to undo.”
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 17 years and six months.
Defense lawyer Kurt David Hermansen urged a sentence of eight years and four months, arguing that Roady has no prior criminal history and had a “spotless record” at his job.
He also is a 26-year Army veteran who served three yearlong tours in the Middle East — 2004 and 2008 in Iraq and 2013 in Afghanistan, according to his lawyer. He received 90% disability from the VA due to nerve damage in his elbow following a training incident. He also suffers from Meniere’s disease, an inner ear disorder that causes him to experience constant dizziness, headaches and hearing loss, Hermansen wrote to the judge. Roady also has service-related back injuries.
U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane sentenced Roady on Monday in federal court in Eugene.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
