Pullman man accused of possessing child pornography pleads not guilty

A Pullman man accused of possessing child pornography was charged with another dozen counts Friday morning in Whitman County Superior Court.

Robert Keller, 38, was arrested for multiple felonies of having child sexual abuse material last fall. He denied six counts of possessing depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct in court last month.

Keller now faces 20 counts of first-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, which he pleaded not guilty to in court Friday. The charges were added after Moscow Police Department detectives assisted the Pullman Police Department on the case.

Whitman County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Tessa Scholl said in court investigators found more than 200 videos of child porn videos on Keller’s phone after obtaining a search warrant. She said authorities reportedly found proof he engaged in trading and exchanging of explicit material with others online.

The case began when Pullman officers took Keller to Pullman Regional Hospital after he threatened to commit suicide Nov. 24 last year, according to court documents.

While receiving mental health treatment, the probable cause affidavit shows Keller’s girlfriend turned his phone over to authorities after allegedly finding child sexual abuse content on the device.

Court documents indicate his girlfriend reportedly saw several graphic sexual images and videos of children on apps like Discord and Snapchat. She told police some depicted an explicit image of a 9-year-old girl, and messages where Keller allegedly described raping a 14-year-old child in November 2024.

He had also supposedly offered to trade pictures of minors on the social media platforms, according to court documents.

Later that day, officers were notified that Keller fled the hospital. Court documents show authorities found Keller at the local Walmart, and that he reportedly ran when he saw the police patrol vehicle.

Law enforcement apprehended Keller on nine counts of first-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, nine counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, one count of second-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of second-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Keller denied having any explicit images of children on his phone in an interview with police.

Court documents show Keller had previously been convicted and served several years in prison for raping a child in Idaho. He reportedly violated conditions of his parole on multiple occasions for that offense.

Keller is being held at the Whitman County Jail on a $500,000 bond. He will appear in court later this month to schedule a jury trial to occur no later than March 31.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.