Port Angeles Man Arrested on Child Sex Abuse Charges

A Clallam County man was arrested for the possession of child sex abuse material, following an investigation sparked by a national cyber tip.

Robert J. Phifer, 58, faces five counts of Possession of Depictions of Minors engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct in the 1st degree, and one count in the 2nd degree.

The investigation began after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children routed a tip to the Port Angeles Police Department through the Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

According to law enforcement, Detective Corporal Ordona initiated the probe and served a search warrant at Phifer’s residence to collect digital evidence.

Forensic examination of multiple digital and storage devices seized from the home established probable cause for the arrest. Phifer was booked into the Clallam County Jail on March 16, and state prosecutors officially filed the criminal case the following day.

While the severity of these new charges has deeply unsettled the community, a closer look at Clallam County court records reveals that Phifer is not an unknown entity to the local justice system.

Over the last decade, multiple individuals came forward seeking the court’s protection from him—warnings that ultimately ended in dismissal.

A History of Dismissed Petitions

In April 2015, a petition was filed for a Domestic Violence Protection Order against Robert Phifer. Two confidential reports were submitted to the court in sealed envelopes to support the filing.

Yet, just two weeks later, on May 8, 2015, an order was issued denying the petition, and the case was dismissed without a trial.

The following year, a similar scenario unfolded. In September 2016, another person filed a petition for a Domestic Violence Protection Order against Phifer. The case dragged on for over a year, with temporary protection orders being repeatedly reissued.

Ultimately, on December 8, 2017, that protection order was also hit with an “Order of Dismissal.”

Both of these dismissals—which denied requested safety and protection measures to those who filed them—were handed down by the same judicial officer: then-Commissioner Brent Basden.

A Grim, Familiar Echo

For Clallam County residents closely following the local courts, the dismissal of early warning signs feels grimly familiar.

A documented pattern of judicial decisions denying protection to vulnerable individuals has emerged in recent years, linking Judge Basden to tragedies where pleas for safety were rejected shortly before the subjects were murdered, kidnapped, or killed.

The Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct has already officially opened an investigation into Judge Basden regarding his past rulings.

Basden has previously defended his position from the bench by stating he “has no way of knowing what he’s not told” inside the courtroom. However, in the case of Robert Phifer, the court was told. Petitions were filed, and confidential reports were submitted.

Phifer’s arrest on serious child exploitation charges raises disturbing questions about the local judicial system’s failure to heed early warnings, leaving the public to wonder what the true cost of those past dismissals might be.