Post Falls Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Images of Sexually Explicit Conduct Involving a 3-Year-Old Child

COEUR D’ALENE—Dylan Joral Ritter, 29, of Post Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Coeur d’Alene to production of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. A federal charge was brought against Ritter on May 20, 2013.

According to his plea agreement, Ritter came to the attention of law enforcement in May 2012, when an agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) discovered that Ritter had been making child pornography available on the Internet. In July 2012, a federal search warrant was executed at Ritter’s Post Falls residence. Ritter admitted that he had been downloading child pornography over the Internet. He also admitted that he had been sexually abusing a 3-year-old relative and had taken photos of this sexual contact with his cell phone. An ICE forensic examiner located the images on Ritter’s cell phone. A Post Falls Police detective used the images to accurately identify the child.

The charge of sexual exploitation of a child by producing sexually explicit images is punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a minimum term of five years up to lifetime supervised release. The government is seeking forfeiture of the computer equipment and cell phone used in the offense.

Sentencing is set for October 16, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Post Falls Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The agencies are North Idaho members of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a statewide coalition of local, state, and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of all the participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”