Chief Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl sentenced RONALD ARTHUR BLAIN, 52, of Cheyenne to 120 months’ imprisonment followed by lifetime of supervised release for possession of child pornography.
In late 2018 and early 2019, agents with the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received several Cybertips indicating Blain was using an internet application to access child pornography. ICAC agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation executed search warrants for several of Blain’s internet accounts. Agents discovered Blain was accessing child pornography while he was on parole with the State of Wyoming for Sexual Abuse of a Minor in First, Second, and Third Degrees.
“HSI special agents won’t ever relent when it comes to protecting children and prosecuting sex offenders like Ronald Arthur Blain," said Steven Cagen, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Denver. “Today’s sentencing is the result of hard work by our local, state, and federal partners to investigate and prosecute these heinous crimes by using every available resource to pursue the guilty and protect the innocent."
Blain was arrested on June 9, 2020, and entered his plea of guilty to one count of possession of child pornography Aug. 11, 2020. Blain has been and will continue to be required to register as a sex offender.
“This case is an example of our ongoing efforts to protect the innocence of children," said United States Attorney Mark A. Klaassen. “The prosecution of repeat offenders is a priority because of the risk they pose to vulnerable victims and the life-long impacts of abuse. We simply have to do everything we can to identify and stop this criminal behavior."
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation an abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
