Illinois man charged with federal child pornography offenses

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois man was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on charges of distributing and possessing child pornography, announced Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois.

These charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the following agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Urbana Police Department, the Illinois Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the East Central Illinois Cyber Crimes Working Group.

Ryan T. Hayman, 39, of Champaign, Illinois, was indicted July 10 by a federal grand jury in Springfield. The indictment alleges that in March Hayman distributed images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment further alleges that in June Hayman possessed images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of computers and related materials allegedly used to commit or promote the offenses.

Hayman was arrested June 18 and charged in a criminal complaint with distributing and possessing child pornography. During a court appearance June 22, U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long ordered Hayman to be detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Arraignment for Hayman has been scheduled for July 17.

If convicted, the statutory penalty for distributing child pornography is a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. The maximum penalty for possessing child pornography is 20 years in prison. Hayman may also be sentenced to up to a lifetime of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Boyle, Central District of Illinois, is prosecuting this case.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. 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. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

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. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. 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.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.