BEULAVILLE MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS FOR RECEIVING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Raleigh – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announces that in federal court today Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever sentenced JOHN EDWARD RYAN, JR. 60, of Beulaville to 240 months imprisonment followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

     On October 5, 2015, RYAN pled guilty to receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2). 

According to public information, in July, 2014, an investigation was initiated relating to the distribution and receipt of child pornography through a peer-to-peer file sharing network.  An Internet Protocol (IP) address was identified and as the investigation continued the subscriber assigned to the IP address was captured and identified as RYAN. 

On September 3, 2014, a search warrant was executed at RYAN’S residence.  An initial onsite preview revealed the presence of child pornography on RYAN’S computer.  RYAN  who was present at the time of the search, acknowledged receiving and possessing child pornography.  Forensic examination of the defendant’s computer and media storage devices revealed approximately 2,415 images and 1,072 videos depicting child pornography.  In December 2014, family members informed investigators that RYAN previously molested his adopted daughter and step-granddaughter and these facts were considered by the court during sentencing.

The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Ethan A. Ontjes is handling the prosecution on behalf of the Eastern District of North Carolina.

     This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level.  For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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News releases are available on the U. S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.