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Press Release

Johnson County Man Arrested and Detained on Federal Complaint Charging Production of Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Ryan Anthony Winner of Olney, Texas, remains in federal custody following his arrest on a federal complaint charging production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Winner, 33, was arrested Monday and made his initial appearance today in federal court in Wichita Falls, Texas, where U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert K. Roach ordered that he remain in federal custody pending a probable cause and detention hearing set for July 28, 2015.

According to the filed complaint, law enforcement learned that an individual, later identified as Winner, had created albums containing images of a minor male on a website that is used by persons interested in exchanging child pornography in order to meet and become trading partners.

Further investigation revealed that Winner had created an account to which he had uploaded files containing suspected child pornography.  On July 16, 2015, a search warrant was executed by law enforcement at two residences in Olney – one belonging to Winner and the other to his father.

Winner, according to the affidavit filed with the complaint, advised he had taken photos of MV1 (Minor Victim 1), a minor male in his Sunday school class, and that agents would locate files on his computer depicting sexual encounters between him and MV1.  Winner advised that he did not have internet access at his residence and used the internet at his father’s residence.  Law enforcement seized Winner’s laptop and files depicting the sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor male were discovered.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge.  A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.  The government has 30 days to present the case to a grand jury for indictment.  The maximum statutory penalty for the offense as charged is not less than 15 years, or more than 30 years, in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), is investigating, with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Young County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone who may have been victimized related to this case should contact the toll-free tip line to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at 1-866-347-2423.

Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is in charge of the prosecution.

Updated September 16, 2015

Topic
Project Safe Childhood