Jonathan D. Ross U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas
Tyler Ball of Wynne, Arkansas, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. The announcement was made by Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Chief United States District Judge Kristine G. Baker delivered the sentence on Thursday.
Ball pleaded guilty on August 22, 2025, to a one-count Superseding Information charging him with possession of child pornography. In addition to his prison term, he will serve five years of supervised release following his incarceration. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case began after an investigation by the Arkansas State Police revealed that Ball had taken sexually explicit photographs of a 10-year-old victim around 2015. Seven years later, on January 27, 2022, Ball contacted the victim through Snapchat and apologized for his actions when the victim was ten years old. In his message to the victim, Ball wrote: “I’m really sorry. I’m balling my eyes out. You mean so much to me and I’m very, very sorry.” After receiving these messages, the victim and their mother reported them to law enforcement.
On February 1, 2022, Ball was interviewed by officers and stated that he had "blacked out" due to alcohol consumption on the night he sent the Snapchat messages and did not remember what happened that night. Officers obtained a search warrant for Ball’s residence and found a cell phone in a safe during their search. A subsequent examination of the device uncovered fourteen images depicting sexually explicit conduct involving the minor victim.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006—to address child sexual exploitation and abuse using federal, state, and local resources to investigate and prosecute offenders as well as identify victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The investigation was led by Arkansas State Police and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant.
