North Texas man arrested, detained; charged with producing child pornography
WICHITA FALLS, Texas — A North Texas man remains in federal custody following his Monday arrest on a federal complaint charging production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
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 (Texas) Sheriff’s Office.
Ryan Anthony Winner of Olney, Texas, 33, was arrested July 20 and made his initial appearance Tuesday 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.
According to the filed complaint, law enforcement learned that an individual, later identified as Winner, had created albums containing images of a boy 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, 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 boy in his Sunday school class, and that agents located 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is in charge of the prosecution.
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 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.
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.
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.