On December 16th 37-year-old Catherine Cantrell was sentenced to 18.5 years in the Department of Corrections by Judge Amanda Benjamin. In February of this year, Cantrell was indicted by a Lincoln County Grand Jury on 59 counts of sexual abuse charges, including Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First and Second Degree, and two counts of Sexual Assault of an Animal.
The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force received a tip that a significant amount of child sexual assault materials (commonly referred to as “child pornography”) were downloaded at an IP address belonging to Cantrell. Cantrell’s digital devices were analyzed and it was determined that she was not only downloading sexually explicit photos and videos of children, but she was encouraging people who had already sexually assaulted young children in Oregon and nationwide to do it again, record it, and send it to her.
Cantrell used the Facebook, Google Chat, and KIK applications to solicit the sexually explicit materials. Cantrell also sexually assaulted her dog, recorded it, and distributed it. This case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Hollie Boggess and investigated by the Newport Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and the District Attorney’s Office. Successful prosecution was made possible by the extensive and thorough analysis conducted on Cantrell’s digital devices by former DA’s Office Digital Forensic Analyst, Danish Pathan.
District Attorney Lanee Danforth stated “Children everywhere are safer with Cantrell in prison. We can’t single handedly eradicate the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, however, we can and will continue to take a proactive approach to these cases and hold offenders accountable to the full extent of the law. My heart goes out to all of the children and their families who were hurt and traumatized by Cantrell’s reprehensible actions. It’s sickening.”
