CONCORD, N.H. — A former Sanbornton man was sentenced Oct. 17 in federal court for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) after an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Timothy Ryan, 35, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release. In December 2022, Ryan was charged with one count of possession of child sexual abuse material. In November 2023, while he was on pretrial release for the original federal child sexual abuse material charge, he reoffended and was subsequently charged with another count of possession of child sexual abuse material. On June 27, 2024, Ryan pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with two counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.
“Despite being arrested by federal agents for possessing child sexual abuse material, Ryan continued to access CSAM while out on bond, resulting in additional federal charges. Now, he’ll be spending the next several years in federal prison,” said HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. “HSI remains committed to working with our partners to hold offenders like Ryan to account.”
“The defendant was caught possessing thousands of images depicting child sexual abuse — not once — but twice. His contempt for the conditions of his pretrial release, lack of remorse and brazen disregard for accountability is appalling,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “The defendant will now serve a lengthy prison sentence, preventing him from causing additional harm to child survivors of sexual abuse.”
“Today’s sentencing holds the defendant accountable for the despicable act of possessing child sexual abuse material,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s (VA OIG) Northeast field office. “The VA OIG thanks our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their collaboration in pursuing justice in this case.”
Ryan was identified as a top offender in the state of New Hampshire for supplying child sexual abuse material through a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. HSI special agents traced the illicit internet activity to his residence and executed a federal search warrant to seize and search his electronic devices on Dec. 13, 2022. Forensic examination of Ryan’s cellphone revealed the presence of approximately 2,600 files of apparent child sexual abuse material. Following this search, he was charged by complaint, and subsequently by information, with one count of possession of child sexual abuse material.
In November 2023, while Ryan was on bond for his federal child sexual abuse material charge, investigators with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs 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 same peer-to-peer file-sharing 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, federal authorities executed a second search warrant for Ryan’s private room at the facility, which resulted in the seizure of more electronic devices containing hundreds of images of child sexual abuse material. Based on this new information, authorities brought a second charge against Ryan.
HSI New England’s Manchester Resident Agent in Charge office and the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs 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. Veteran’s Affairs Police Service.
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.