Sanbornton Man Sentenced to 87 Months in Federal Prison for Possession of Approximately 2600 Images of Child Sexual Abuse

CONCORD - A former Sanbornton man was sentenced today in federal court for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Timothy Ryan, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe to 87 months in federal prison and 5 years of supervised release. In December 2022, Ryan was charged with one count of possession of CSAM. In November 2023, while Ryan was on pre-trial release for this original federal CSAM charge, he reoffended and was subsequently charged with another count of possession of CSAM. On June 27, 2024, Ryan pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with two counts of possession of CSAM.

"The defendant was caught possessing thousands of images depicting child sexual abuse - not once - but twice. His contempt for the conditions of his pre-trial 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."

"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 Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol for Homeland Security Investigations in New England. "HSI remains committed to working with our partners to hold offenders like Ryan to account."

"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 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 CSAM through a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. Investigators traced the illicit internet activity to his residence and executed a federal search warrant to seize and search his electronic devices on December 13, 2022. Forensic examination of Ryan's cell phone revealed the presence of approximately 2,600 files of apparent CSAM. Following this search, he was charged by complaint, and subsequently by information, with one count of possession of CSAM.

In November 2023, while Ryan was on bond for his federal CSAM 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 CSAM 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 CSAM. Based on this new information, authorities brought a second charge against Ryan.

Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Department of Veteran's Affairs Office of the Inspector General led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasey Weiland is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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