A Tarkio man was taken into custody in Nebraska on Sunday and now sits in an Atchison County jail cell without bond, accused of first-degree harassment and possession of child pornography. Robert Prestly was arrested without incident after the Franklin County, Nebraska Sheriff's Office took him into custody.
According to KQ2, the Atchison County Sheriff's Office received a complaint against Prestly on August 16, and investigators pursued multiple search warrants before submitting a probable cause statement to the Atchison County Prosecutor's Office. The Atchison County Circuit Court subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest, citing one count of first-degree harassment and one count of possession of child pornography. Prestly is now being held without bond as the case moves forward.
Another Atchison County Case Involving Similar Charges
Prestly's arrest adds another Atchison County case involving the same pair of charges following a harassment complaint. On August 26, the Atchison County Sheriff's Office arrested 39-year-old Luke Seiter of Rock Port on identical counts of first-degree harassment and possession of child pornography, stemming from a complaint filed in late July, according to KXCV-KRNW. Seiter, a school paraprofessional and former Holt County sheriff's deputy, was also held without bond, and that station's report notes the timing of the two cases raises questions about whether they stem from a shared investigation or a connected digital network — a question that remains unanswered.
It also remains unclear exactly how investigators tracked Prestly to Franklin County, Nebraska, or when extradition proceedings will bring him back to face charges in Missouri's 4th Judicial Circuit, which covers Atchison, Gentry, Holt, Nodaway, and Worth counties. Because he was apprehended outside Missouri, his return is governed by interstate extradition procedures under the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, a process that typically requires formal governor rendition warrants unless the detainee waives them.
What Missouri Law Says About the Charges
The case includes a first-degree harassment charge against Prestly.
The other charge against Prestly is possession of child pornography. No specialized units are identified in the available account.
A Small County Confronting Repeated Cases
Tarkio, where Prestly resides, is Atchison County's largest municipality, and the surrounding county is rural. The Atchison County Sheriff's Office is the same office that filed near-identical charges against Seiter weeks earlier.
The arrest also comes just days after Hoodline reported on a separate Tarkio shooting case, in which Atchison County deputies and local police investigated a bullet-riddled pickup truck and shell casings recovered on Vine Street, resulting in weapon and drug charges. Together, the cases point to an unusually active stretch for law enforcement in a county more accustomed to quiet news cycles.
