New Hampshire Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material After HSI Investigation

CONCORD, N.H. — A Sanbornton man pleaded guilty July 3 in federal court in Concord to possession of child sexual abuse material after an investigation initiated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England.

Timothy Ryan, 35, pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with an additional count of possession of child sexual abuse material, for a total of two counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. On Dec. 12, 2022, Ryan was originally charged by complaint with one count of possession of child sexual abuse material. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8, 2024.

Ryan was identified as a top offender in the state of New Hampshire for supplying child sexual abuse material through the peer-to-peer network BitTorrent. Investigators traced the illicit internet activity to his residence. On Dec. 13, 2022, HSI executed a federal search warrant for his electronic devices. HSI special agents conducted a forensic examination of the defendant’s cellphone, which revealed the presence of approximately 2,600 files of apparent child sexual abuse material.

In November 2023, while Ryan was on bond for his original federal child sexual abuse material charge, investigators with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General received information that an IP address associated with one of its residential facilities in Massachusetts was being used regularly to distribute known child sexual abuse material on the BitTorrent network. Further investigation revealed that Ryan had moved into that facility around the same time that the illicit activity was first observed. In December 2023, HSI and the VA’s Office of Inspector General executed a second search warrant for Ryan’s private room at the facility, resulting in the seizure of more electronic devices containing hundreds of images of child sexual abuse material.

HSI New England’s Manchester Resident Agent in Charge office and the VA’s Office of Inspector General led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Secret Service, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Nashua Police Department, the Grafton County Sheriff’s Department, the Sanbornton Police Department and the U.S. Veterans Affairs Police Service.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. attorneys' offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

HSI is a global leader in the fight against child exploitation. Last year, HSI special agents dedicated 1.2 million case hours toward investigating child exploitation. This heinous crime harms the most vulnerable in our society: our kids. As technology evolves and more people have access to the internet, children are at a greater risk than ever. HSI’s special agents and analysts around the world are dedicated to countering this threat.

Report suspected child exploitation to the HSI tip line at 877-4-HSI-TIP or through the CyberTipline on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website.