Fifteen-year Sentence For Jefferson County Man Who Received Child Pornography

COLUMBUS – Ryan D. Kasler, 31, of Mt. Pleasant, Ohio was sentenced to 15 years in prison for downloading images of child pornography from the internet.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Dugan T. Wong, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and William A. Hayes, acting special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Ohio and Michigan, announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge James Graham.   

Kasler pleaded guilty on March 14, 2013 to one count of illegal receipt of child pornography. According to testimony presented during the plea hearing, Kasler was identified during an investigation by Postal Inspectors into subjects who received child pornography through the U.S. Mail. Investigation of a company that was suspected of distributing child pornography indicated that Kasler had purchases 17 separate videos or photo collections of child pornography, which he had downloaded or received through the mail.

Investigators executed a search warrant at Kasler’s home in December 2012 and seized videos, a computer and storage media containing child pornography. Agents arrested Kasler, who has been in custody since his arrest.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by Postal Inspectors and HSI agents, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Hill, who is representing the United States in this case.