Son of accused would-be Trump assassin sentenced to 7 years for child pornography

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A Greensboro man was sentenced for possession of child sex abuse material in federal court after the crime was discovered during an investigation into his father.

On Friday morning, Oran Routh appeared in federal court for sentencing for a count of possessing child pornography of a child under the age of 12. He pleaded guilty to this charge in exchange for his other charges,

which included multiple counts of possessing and transporting child pornography, being dismissed.

The judge sentenced him to seven years in prison with five years of supervised probation.

Oran Routh was taken back into custody after the guilty plea, a decision which he appealed. The court cited concerns for his safety due to his connection to Ryan Wesley Routh, who is accused of plotting to try and kill Donald Trump in September 2024.

Oran’s Feb. 12 plea hearing lasted nearly two hours as he answered the judge’s questions with long-winded answers that did not directly address the question. Judge William Osteen asked the same questions multiple times in different ways before finally getting satisfactory answers and accepting Oran’s guilty plea.

Oran’s attorney submitted character letters, including one from his former principal at the Early College at Guilford and his mother.

The judge said her letter was moving and very persuasive.

Later during the proceeding, the judge said, “A positive personal history is not a distinguishing factor.”

Oran’s mother declined to comment to FOX8 on the sentencing. His attorney stopped and spoke with FOX8 after the proceeding.

“I think what I’m pleased with is Judge Osteen gave the case a good consideration on that, and while we may have wanted a different result, we were satisfied or gave considerable thought to sentence,” said John Coalter, Oran’s attorney.

Coalter fought for a lighter sentence, which was ultimately shot down. 

Some of the strongest arguments in court happened as the prosecution described the material Oran had.

They called it “horrific and exploitative.”

When making his decision, the judge pointed to Oran’s activity on encrypted messaging apps like Whisper, Telegram and Signal, engaging with people who promoted and participated in the child sex abuse material.

In his decision, the judge said anything lower than a sentence of seven years in prison and five years supervised probation would not reflect the seriousness.

Still, the judge sided with the defense in other areas with the term of Oran’s supervised probation and request for a prison closer to home with mental health counseling, sex offender treatment and vocational programs.

Coalter also requested an expedited transfer from the county jail.

“Because of his father’s case … There’s always a safety concern … The sooner that he can get to the Bureau of Prisons, that has a little more experience in dealing with this, the better,” Coalter said.

Oran’s sentence also includes a restitution order to be paid to the victims in monthly installments, which will start 60 days after his release from prison.

He remains in county custody until the judge’s written judgment is finalized. At that point, he will be transferred to federal prison.

When marshals came to take him into custody, Oran stated in an outburst that his arrest was political persecution.

At the time of his arrest, federal agents said they found the child sex abuse material during the unrelated investigation into his father, following his arrest in Florida.