GALVESTON, Texas — A retired Paterson, New Jersey, police sergeant has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse material following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston’s Galveston office, the Pearland and Galveston police, and the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Ryan N. Curving, a 50-year-old resident of Texas City, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 10 years in federal prison and was further ordered to pay $5,000 assessments to both the Justice for Victims Trafficking Act and the Amy, Vicky and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, for a total of $10,000 in penalties. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he must comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Curving pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 22, 2023.
Curving came to law enforcement’s attention after using his Kik account to distribute child sexual abuse material. On Dec. 6, 2022, authorities executed a search warrant at his residence. At that time, he admitted to downloading and sending child sexual abuse material to other Kik users and had been curious about child sexual abuse material for two years.
At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that Curving sent child sexual abuse videos to five other people through Kik Messenger. He joined Kik chat group known for child sexual abuse material and discussions and fantasies of familial sexual abuse. He also admitted to creating a second Kik account to continue his conduct after administrators found child sexual abuse material on his first one and terminated it.
Curving was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ann Leo prosecuted the case.
For more news and information on HSI Houston’s efforts to aggressively investigate child exploitation and child pornography in Southeast Texas follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSIHouston.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’ largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.