Jury Convicts Jefferson City Man of Child Porn

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Jefferson City, Mo., man has been convicted at trial of possessing and receiving child pornography over the Internet.

Ryan Michael Moberg, 37, of Jefferson City, was found guilty on Tuesday, July 12, 2016, of the charges contained in a June 15, 2015, federal indictment.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Moberg utilized a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to access child pornography over the Internet. In November 2012, a Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department detective identified Moberg’s computer as sharing files online. One of the video files on Moberg’s computer depicted a young girl engaged in sexual activity with a dog.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Moberg’s residence in April 2013 and seized an Acer tower computer. Moberg was not home at the time the warrant was executed; investigators went to his workplace and interviewed him. Moberg admitted to investigators that he searched for child pornography online and downloaded it to his computer.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo., deliberated for about two and a half hours before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough, ending a trial that began Monday, July 11, 2016.

Under federal statutes, Moberg is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 30 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Lynn. It was investigated by the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."