Illinois Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation in Nepal

A Collinsville, Illinois, man pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in Nepal.

According to court documents, Kenneth Joseph Coombs, 58, traveled from the United States to Nepal in August 2016 and sexually abused eight different children while staying at a hotel in that country between August and September of that year. Coombs used a combination of force, involuntary intoxication, and payments to the children to commit the sex acts. Coombs also took photos of some of the children engaged in the sexually explicit conduct he directed. Those photos were recovered from his electronic devices by law enforcement. At the time Coombs committed these offenses, he was required to register as a sex offender based on having a qualifying prior sex offense conviction in the state of Missouri. Upon his return to the United States from Nepal, Coombs was arrested by U.S. law enforcement in September 2025. He has been held in custody since that time.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 28.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft of the Southern District of Illinois and Special Agent in Charge Ryan Presley of the FBI Springfield Field Office made the announcement.

FBI Springfield is investigating the case and received substantial assistance from the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal, U.S. Embassy Nepal, FBI LEGAT Qatar, FBI LEGAT India, FBI Chicago, Collinsville (Illinois) Police Department, Customs and Border Protection O'Hare International Airport, Kathmandu District Attorney's Office, and the Nepali NGO Naya Paila.

Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly S. Arshi for the Southern District of Illinois are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.