Sentencing memo: Arrest on child pornography charges kept Joplin man from committing suicide

The only thing that prevented a Joplin man from committing suicide was his arrest on a child pornography charge, according to a sentencing memorandum filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Sentencing for Robert M. Holley, 45, is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, September 20 in Springfield    and his lawyer, federal public defender Michelle Law, is asking that Holley be sentenced to five years in prison, noting that he pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography and not distributing it and that he quickly took responsibility for his crimes and pleaded guilty.

The government sentencing memorandum, which was also filed today, notes "the defendant’s deviant sexual interest in children, drug addiction, and dangerous decision-making," asks for a 10-year sentence for Holley.

Law asked the court to consider what she calls Holley's "redemption story," his claim in a letter written to his parents after his arrest that he was planning to commit suicide and would have if not for his arrest.

The letter is included as an exhibit in the sentencing memorandum

This criminal case is Mr. Holley’s redemption story -- if he had not been arrested for the offense when he was, he would have committed suicide just a few hours later. His plan to commit suicide was in place and the only thing preventing it was Mr. Holley’s arrest. 

Mr. Holley expressed this in a heartfelt letter to his parents, which they felt compelled to share with the Court. 

In his letter to his parents, Mr. Holley writes: 

"Before I was picked up, I’d been planning my death – couple more hours & I would have had it done. I knew where and I knew how. Things always happen for a reason, right? Yet again, God has stepped up to save this life! 

"After the confusion & pain, I have new plans upon release & directions to go." 

Mr. Holley wrote this to his parents, well over a year ago, to make amends with them. His letter was not written for the Court in hopes of leniency, but it was significant enough that his parents wanted the letter shared. The letter is a window into Mr. Holley’s desire to live, and to live a productive life when released.

In the memorandum, Law notes that Holley's crimes were committed while he was under the influence of methamphetamine.

He candidly disclosed to law enforcement that he searched for child pornography when he was abusing methamphetamine. His family wrote of his struggles with addiction, and Mr. Holley disclosed to the probation office long-standing issues with addiction to methamphetamine. 

Although Mr. Holley would like to participate in RDAP and mental health counseling while incarcerated, community-based treatment programs will be a part of his supervised release conditions. Thus, a lengthy sentence is not required to accomplish rehabilitative treatment.

Law said that Holley possessed far fewer than the number of child pornography images normally seen in one of these cases.

The government's case against Holley is included in its sentencing memorandum:

The defendant’s crimes came to light after Google transmitted multiple CTRs to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after repeatedly discovering imagery depicting child pornography in the defendant’s accounts. 

As noted in the presentence investigation report, the images collected and retained by the defendant included children, as young as toddlers, being brutally sexually victimized. 

After identifying the defendant’s location, federal law enforcement authorities obtained and executed a search warrant upon his residence. When questioned, the defendant first adamantly denied any involvement with child pornography. 

Only after the investigators confronted the defendant with the evidence gathered during the course of the investigation, did the defendant acknowledge that he had actively searched for child pornography.

The defendant attempted to justify his acts by blaming his addiction to methamphetamine and claimed that despite his lengthy involvement with child pornography, he was not sexually aroused by the material.

The government memo takes issue with the public defender's claim that Holley had less child pornography than the usual defendant.

The defendant amassed a significant collection of child pornography. The imagery the defendant deliberately placed in his cloud storage accounts depict extraordinarily young children being subjected to almost unimaginable brutality. 

It also notable that the defendant had both methamphetamine and a loaded firearm on his person when he was arrested. The defendant clearly presents a significant danger to society. The defendant’s inability to curtail his depraved sexual appetites and drug abuse is profoundly troubling. Consequently, a lengthy sentence is warranted to protect the public from the defendant.

The loaded firearm mentioned by Assistant U. S. Attorney James J. Kelleher in his memorandum was a semi-automatic loaded handgun carried by Holley in his waistband, which was discovered by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force as it executed a search warrant at Holley's home.

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