Georgia man sentenced to more than 21 years for sexually exploiting minors in Thailand

HONOLULU– A Georgia man was sentenced Thursday to 262 months in prison for traveling to Thailand to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors and producing images and video of those activities, following a multiagency probe led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Royal Thai Police and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

Ronny Lee Waldrip, 64, of Douglasville, Georgia, pleaded guilty Nov. 7, 2014, to one count of sexually exploiting a minor outside the United States for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct. Senior U.S. District Court Judge Helen Gillmor of the District of Hawaii, who presided over Waldrip’s sentencing, also ordered him to pay $45,000 in restitution.

In connection with his guilty plea, Waldrip admitted traveling to Thailand on numerous occasions to engage in sexual conduct with minor females. Specifically, he admitted going to Thailand in 2010 and 2011 for the purpose of inducing minors to engage in sexual acts, and recording such conduct without the victims’ knowledge or permission. 

Waldrip also admitted that, on Feb. 13, 2012, he traveled from Bangkok to Honolulu with a laptop computer containing images and videos of child pornography, including videos showing him engaging in sexual acts with minor females, some as young as 14. Waldrip further admitted using the Internet to distribute the images and videos of three minor victims to another U.S. citizen Waldrip knew was interested in child pornography. 

The investigation was conducted under the auspices of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood and HSI’s Operation Predator, two initiatives aimed at locating, arresting and prosecuting individuals who sexually exploit children and rescuing their victims.

Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST. For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.