Coos Bay man sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexual exploitation of minor

EUGENE, Ore. — A Coos Bay, Oregon, man was sentenced to federal prison on Wednesday for making sexually explicit images of a minor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced Wednesday.

Willard Verdell Cowan, 61, was sentenced to 300 months in prison, followed by life in prison under supervision.

According to court documents, beginning in early 2021, Cowan offered to talk to a minor who often suffered from panic attacks. Instead, he took advantage of the victim’s vulnerability by providing alcohol and marijuana before sexually assaulting the victim. Cowan continued to sexually abuse the victim, sometimes recording the abuse and requesting sexually explicit images of the minor, until he was arrested in March 2023.

On February 16, 2023, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a two-count indictment charging Cowan with sexual exploitation of a child and distributing child pornography.

On August 21, 2024, Cowan pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Coos County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Jeffrey S. Sweet, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, in coordination with the Coos County District Attorney’s Office.

More information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon:

Anyone with information regarding the physical or online exploitation of children is encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

The FBI CETF conducts sexual exploitation investigations, many of them undercover, in coordination with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. CETF is committed to identifying and apprehending those who prey on children, and to recovering and assisting victims of sex trafficking and child exploitation.

Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. It is important to remember that child sexual abuse material reflects actual crimes committed against children. These images and videos not only document the exploitation and abuse of the victims, but when shared over the internet, the child victims are revictimized and traumatized every time their abuse is viewed. For more information, please visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.