Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RYAN HARDING, 29, of Woodstock, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 144 months of imprisonment, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for receiving and possessing child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between July 16, 2013 and Oct. 30, 2013, HARDING received images and videos of child pornography that he downloaded from individuals via the Internet using a peer-to-peer file sharing program. During a search of the residence on Oct. 30, 2013, law enforcement officers seized computers and a thumb drive. Forensic analysis of HARDING’s computers and thumb drive revealed more than 600 image files and videos of child pornography. He also possessed images of a partially naked 13-year old boy that he knew.
On Nov. 20, 2014, HARDING pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
After his arrest on Nov. 26, 2013, HARDING was released on bond and placed on home confinement with GPS monitoring. At the conclusion of today’s sentencing proceeding, he was remanded to custody to begin serving his sentence
This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
