United States of America v. Robert Silva

Honolulu, Hawaii, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with production of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2251.

Robert Silva, agte 52, of Waipahu, Hawaii, admitted that on multiple occasions in 2018 and 2019, he paid adults in the Philippines to sexually abuse children there during live internet video streams. While in Hawaii, Silva created recordings of these video streams, which show him directing the adults to abuse the children, ranging from ages three to thirteen, in real time. Silva would “tip” the adults, sometimes as little as fifty cents, to engage in specific sex acts with the children.

At sentencing, Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor highlighted the egregious nature of the defendant’s conduct, which involved the sexual exploitation of young children from economically marginalized communities abroad. Judge Gillmor expressed concern that Silva continued to minimize the severity of his role in the offense after he argued he did not himself commit a “hands on” offense.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara Eucker and Rebecca A. Perlmutter prosecuted the case.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison (the statutory maximum) followed by a 20-year term of supervised release for producing child pornography. He must also now register as a sex offender.