Oran Alexander Routh, the son of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man who just yesterday was formally charged with 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.
The younger 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.
At roughly the same time, Ryan Routh was finally charged on Tuesday with attempting to kill Trump, ten days after the attempt took place at Trump’s Florida golf course. In the time that elapsed, it was not certain what exact charges would be brought against Routh senior. It was also announced that the notoriously Trump-friendly judge Aileen Cannon would oversee his trial.
The criminal complaint says Oran Routh’s North Carolina home was searched on Saturday in connection with an unrelated case. It’s unclear whether that case was the investigation into his father. 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.
Oran 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.
Oran Routh has had many brushes with the law. The current is one of at least 39 criminal cases filed against Oran Routh over about 17 years in North Carolina, mostly in Guilford County. Among the previous charges, several traffic violations, possession of narcotics and an assault of a female. In 2018, he plead guilty to assault of a female and was sentenced to 18 months’ probation, but the disposition of the other cases is not clear.
As of Wednesday morning, a preliminary hearing had not been scheduled, and he had not entered a plea.
