ATLANTA — A joint Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chattanooga and HSI Dalton investigation has led to the sentencing of a Tennessee motorcross coach who traveled the country building motocross tracks and mentoring children to decades in prison for multiple child exploitation offenses.
Ryan Meyung, 33, who has no fixed address, was sentenced to 40 years in prison to be followed by supervised release for life. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $193,500. Meyung was convicted of six counts of producing child sexual abuse material on April 26, after he pleaded guilty.
“This coach violated his position of trust and profound responsibility to protect and mentor those in his care,” said HSI Nashville Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud. “HSI, alongside our partners at the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Chattanooga Police Department, is fully committed to investigating and removing people who seek to harm our children. Our primary concern is ensuring justice for the victims and supporting their needs.”
According to U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court, between July 2019 and December 2021, Meyung caused six minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce sexually explicit images and videos. At the time, the victims were between six and 13 years old. Meyung also possessed and transported images and videos of child sexual abuse produced by other sex offenders. Additionally, he sexually abused and recorded other children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
“Meyung is a predator who sexually abused numerous children while working as a motocross coach,” said Buchanan. “This office remains steadfast in our determination to closely coordinate with our law enforcement partners across state lines to ensure justice is served to those who commit these heinous crimes against children.”
This case was investigated by HSI Chattanooga and HSI Dalton, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (Tennessee), the Chattanooga (Tennessee) Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations field offices throughout the country. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin N. Spritzer and trial attorneys Jessica L. Urban and James E. Burke IV of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section prosecuted the case.